My Housekeeper Tried to Replace Me with Her Daughter Chapter 09

My Housekeeper Tried to Replace Me with Her Daughter Chapter 09

The police arrived quickly.

The second the sirens reached Maple Crest, Marlene fell apart.

She grabbed my arm, tears already streaming.

“Vivienne, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“I’ll pay you back. All of it. Just please don’t let them take me in.”

Tessa hadn’t moved. She just kept muttering to herself.

“I’m not a thief. I didn’t steal anything. I’m not a thief…”

Everett stepped in front of me and pushed Marlene’s hand away.

Marlene turned to beg him.

“Mr. Ashford, you know what kind of person I am. You hired me. You believed in me. Please, just

talk to her.”

“I’ve been loyal to this family for years. Maybe I made mistakes, but I always tried my hardest.”

Tears ran down her face. She was sobbing so hard the words kept breaking apart.

Everett wouldn’t even look at her.

“If Vivienne hadn’t vouched for you, I never would’ve hired you. She’s the one who’s been paying your salary this whole time. She’s your boss, not me.”

“She paid you way more than you were worth, and this is how you thank her?”

“You brought this on yourself. Every bit of it.”

Marlene’s lips moved, but she could no longer say a word.

The officers took statements, then escorted Marlene and Tessa away.

I went back inside and closed the door behind me.

Life slowly returned to normal.

The mood around Maple Crest shifted, too.

The same women who’d avoided me were suddenly all smiles in the courtyard, acting like nothing had ever happened.

“Vivienne, you look great! You’re practically glowing.”

“I grew these cucumbers myself in my garden. Take some home. They’re so fresh.”

“You and your husband are just the sweetest couple. We’re all jealous. So… any plans for starting a family?”

I smiled politely but didn’t say much.

Forgiveness wasn’t something you just handed out. I’d let time sort it out.

A week later, someone posted a video in the HOA group chat.

The video had been recorded in a narrow alley in South Briar.

A heavyset woman and a few of her friends were kicking Tessa and screaming at her, while Tessa curled up on the ground.

“You shameless little tramp! You think you can mess with my husband?”

“This is what happens when you go after somebody’s husband! I’ll kill you!”

One of the women grabbed a fistful of Tessa’s hair.

“You like seducing married men? Let’s see how pretty you are when I’m done with you!”

The video was short. Marlene was in it too.

She tried to intervene, but those women overpowered her easily.

The group chat exploded.

[Isn’t that Nolan’s wife? I’ve seen her around. She’s terrifying.)

[Nolan quit his job here. Packed up his locker and vanished, probably too humiliated to show his face. Nobody knows where he went.]

[That’s not even the worst of it. His wife filed for divorce. Took the kid and moved back in with her family.]

[Honestly, Nolan probably didn’t mind the divorce. Tessa’s pregnant, remember? He wants to marry her. She’s young and pretty. He thinks he traded up.]

[Ha! Like Marlene would allow that.]

[Who knows. Nolan shows up in South Briar every day now, calling Tessa his wife and Marlene his mother-in-law.]

[Karma. You try to wreck someone’s marriage, don’t be surprised when yours falls apart.]

I scrolled through the messages that followed.

Someone dug up Tessa’s college and major. She’d apparently sent out more than twenty

applications and hadn’t gotten a single callback.

One company had brought her in for an interview, then dropped her the second her background

check came back.

Both Tessa and Marlene were convicted. Since they’d returned some of the stolen property and

cooperated, they each got a six-month suspended sentence with one year of probation.

Tessa now had a criminal record. No company was willing to risk hiring someone like her.

Marlene had it worse. The housekeeping world in Bellwether was small, and word spread fast.

With a felony on her record, she was unbondable. No agency would touch her.

Someone in the chat summed it up.

[At this rate, Nolan’s probably going to end up marrying her. Those two can’t survive on their own.]

[Gross. He’s more than twenty years older than Tessa.]

I put my phone facedown on the coffee table.

Everett came out of the study and handed me a glass of milk.

“What are you looking at, honey?”

I leaned into him. “Nothing. Hey, I have some news.”

He played along. “Good news? Did Ms. Whitaker make your favorite seafood chowder?”

I shook my head.

“I can’t even stand the smell of seafood right now.”

He frowned, jumping to the wrong conclusion.

“Is that woman still bothering you?”

“Don’t let her ruin your day.”

“You were nothing but kind to her. She just didn’t deserve it.”

I smiled, took his hand, and pressed it gently against my belly.

“You fool. You’re going to be a dad.”