Bang felt like a cold bucket of water had been splashed on her as she watched Ashley pocket the bill with that triumphant smirk. Her breathing grew jagged, her eyes wide, darting between the two people she least wanted to see—or rather, the two people no one here would want to see at this hour.
Slowly, Ashley peeled herself off the wall and marched toward Bang.
For every two steps Ashley took, Bang instinctively stepped back until she found herself back inside Betty’s bedroom.
"For a little maid... you guys are surely something," Ashley remarked, casting Lucian a side glance. "See what I told you? They’re going to frame Betty for it."
As soon as those words reached Bang’s ears, her entire body froze on the spot. A part of her wished this was just a coincidence—that she could reason her way out by saying Betty told her to come here.
But with this?
THUD!
Before Bang could even think, her body reacted. She dropped to her knees, her forehead hitting the floor.
"Madam, Master, I can explain!" she panicked, her entire body trembling. "I was just here because I was told to come here! I wasn’t trying to do anything—it’s not my idea! I’m just following orders!"
"I don’t remember giving you any orders," Ashley said, rubbing her chin before glancing at Lucian. "Do you?"
Lucian fluttered his eyelashes ever so slowly, his gaze resting on Bang’s back. "No."
"Who else could give orders here aside from the Master?" Ashley hummed. "Was it Nolan? Gustav...? Betty!?"
Ashley gasped, squatting down in front of Bang. Then her expression shifted as she tilted her head, waiting for Bang to look up. The moment Bang did, her breath hitched upon meeting that pair of sharp eyes.
"Whose orders are you following?"
Bang paled, unable to blink or even look away. She tried to answer, but her trembling lips only quivered, her voice stuck in her throat.
She immediately realized that any answer other than Ashley or Lucian would kill her.
Bang lowered her head once more, her forehead hitting the floor again, already swelling. "Please forgive me, madam! Master! I was wrong and overstepped! Please have mercy on me!"
"Mercy, huh?" Ashley repeated with a long breath, pushing herself up. As she began walking away, she asked, "So, where did you put it?"
"Huh?"
Ashley stopped and looked back at her. "The one you brought in here. Where did you hide it?"
Bang clasped her hands, trying to stop her body from shaking, but to no avail. She glanced at Lucian and quickly looked away when she caught him staring.
"In the—" she stuttered, her voice shaky. "The closet. Right behind the hanging clothes."
No answer came, but she heard the closet doors open. After a few seconds of rustling, the noise stopped.
Ashley smirked as she found the bottle of bleach inside, taking it out and quickly showing it to Lucian. He glanced at the bleach briefly, but not nearly as much as he looked at her, impressed.
"Here’s what’s going to happen," she cleared her throat as she walked back to where Bang was kowtowing. "You—"
But before she could continue, the door suddenly opened. She stopped, while Lucian turned toward it.
There stood Betty.
"Madam?" Betty called, taking another second before freezing upon seeing Lucian. Her surprise, however, was short-lived when she noticed another figure on the floor.
Her gaze moved downward, her brows furrowing as she recognized the third person in her room. "Bang?"
"What... what’s going on here?" she blurted, utterly confused.
Seeing Ashley in her quarters was starting to feel normal. Betty still wasn’t used to Lucian—it was only his second time here. But why did it feel like her visitors at this hour kept increasing?

Right then and there, Bang’s heart sank.
It’s over, her thoughts echoed. I’m... doomed. What have I done?

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