Chapter 2 - THE FIANCÉE WHO HATED BEING QUESTIONED
The ambulance arrived eight minutes later.
Adeline protested that she could stand, walk, and breathe without difficulty, but Roman insisted that the paramedics examine her.
He was right.
At the hospital, imaging showed a fractured collarbone and a bruised rib.
The doctor told her she had been extraordinarily fortunate.
“Another few inches,” he said, “and we might be having a very different conversation.”
Adeline sat on the examination bed, staring at the sling around her arm.
Her first thought was not about pain.
It was about money.
How would she work?
How would she pay rent?
How would she afford her mother's heart medication?
She had eighty-three dollars in her checking account.
Eighty-three dollars and a body that could no longer lift a laundry basket.
When Roman entered the room, she quickly wiped her eyes.
He noticed.
Of course he noticed.
“Are you in pain?”
“A little.”
He looked at the medical paperwork.
“The physician says you need several weeks of restricted activity.”
She swallowed.
“I can't afford that.”
Roman sat in the chair opposite her.
“You were injured while working in my home.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then the household will handle the appropriate medical expenses and paid leave.”
Adeline stared.
“I don't want charity.”
“It isn't charity.”
He leaned forward.
“It's responsibility.”
She looked away.
Nobody had ever spoken to her that way.
Not her previous employers.
Not the insurance company that had denied her father's final claim.
Not the men who had told her that poor people should be grateful for whatever they received.
Roman watched her quietly.
Then asked, “How long have you worked for us?”
“Six weeks.”
“Who hired you?”
“Mrs. Bellandi's former housekeeper recommended me.”
“Who supervises you?”
“Miss Caruso.”
His jaw tightened.
“Does Vanessa often ask staff to perform unsafe work?”
Adeline hesitated.
Roman noticed.
“You can tell me.”
She gave a small, humorless laugh.
“That's what people always say before someone gets fired.”
For the first time, Roman looked genuinely ashamed.
“Then I've given you no reason to believe me.”
She said nothing.
He nodded.
“Fair enough.”
His phone vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
Then looked back at her.
“The ladder has been secured. Nobody will touch it until an independent investigator examines it.”
Adeline's heart accelerated.
“Why?”
Roman's expression hardened.
“Because you may be right.”
He stood.
Then paused at the door.
“Miss?”
She looked up.
“Adeline,” she said.
“Adeline.”
He repeated her name as though it mattered.
“You will not lose your job for telling the truth.”
She wanted to believe him.
May you like
But when he left, her phone lit up with a message from Vanessa.
You have made a terrible mistake.
