MAID FOR THEM

THE STALKER’S GIFT

LIORA

I held the small, square parcel in my hands, testing the weight of it. It had been left at the gates with my name written in a script so elegant it made my heart beat fast.

A guard dropped it off with a maid who sent it to my room.

I knew without a doubt who it was. Two weeks after he’d crumbled and rebuilt himself into a wall of ice, I assumed this was his penance.

Billionaires like him didn’t say “thank you” or apologized with words; they said it with credit cards and expensive gifts.

I found him in his study as always, surrounded by darkness and the scent of old paper. He didn’t even look up when I entered.

“Sir? I received a gift at the gate. I wanted to thank you.”

He finally looked at me, and my stomach dropped. His eyes were flat and entirely empty of the heat I had seen before.

“I didn’t send anything, Liora.” His reply cut me like a sharp razor. “I have no reason to. Get out of those ridiculous ideas in your head. In fact, I’d prefer it if you kept your distance. You’re here to work and not imagine things.”

The rejection was like a physical slap. He didn’t just deny the gift—he denied me. He treated the most intimate moment between us like a smudge on his “perfect” husband tag.

And he wanted to scrub that off.

I bowed my head in shame and backed out of the room immediately before he caught sight of the burn on my face.

Whatever had simmered between us had been truly watered out.

Once I was in the safety of my bedroom, I opened the velvet box. Nestling in silk was a bracelet whose design I’d never seen before.

It was white gold with delicate links and a single charm: a tiny silver dove carrying an olive branch. The ornament was simple, yet meaningful.

That had been the symbol of my old purity movement preaching of forgiveness and celibacy and the journey of new beginnings.

This wasn’t something a random admirer would know. Someone who had studied me and knew my past did this.

Definitely worth more than a year of my salary. It was the kind of gift a man sends when he is utterly and dangerously obsessed. Or worse—in love.

I stared at it but the beauty didn’t excite me. It outright terrified me.

“If Jeronimo didn’t send this, then who did?” I whispered to the empty room.

It was beautiful indeed. However…I couldn’t keep it. Apart from the fact that it cost a fortune, it felt like a trap. For all I knew, there was a microphone inside or a GPS tracker.

I didn’t believe in lovely gestures if anything from my past was enough of a lesson. I walked to the toilet and without a second thought, I dropped it and flushed it.

I wouldn’t be caught dead with that around my wrist.

The unease lingered all evening, but I had something else to focus on. Something I’d been putting off until now.

I opened the encrypted notes app on my phone and found the address I memorized weeks ago. It was a discreet building in La Candelaria, the old district.

It was home to a certain agency that operated in the shadows of Bogotá’s elite circles. They offered high-end escorts for galas and private events, also arm candy for the powerful.

Sometimes more, all for the right price.

The next morning, I dressed plainly in jeans, a hoodie and pulled my hair into a low ponytail.

A taxi dropped me off in front of a building with glass doors and a small brass plaque that read Elite Corporations.

The lobby smelled like expensive lilies. Behind the reception desk sat a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties with bright pink bob and red lipstick.

Her nameplate read Sofia.

“Appointments only. We don’t take walk-ins for the talent side,” she drawled without looking up from her nails that looked like tiny glass daggers.

“Hi, Sofia. I’m not looking for a job. I’m looking for someone who used to work here. Her name was Jennie but she used the alias Abigail.”

She finally looked up. Her sharp eyes scanned my cheap clothes. She looked ready to call security.

“Never heard of her. Scurry on.”

I looked around, then leaned in. “I’m a friend of Avaline Virelo. She told me this was the place.”

The mention of Avalaine changed everything. Her posture shifted and her eyes danced with a sudden vibrant energy.

“Avaline? You mean the Avaline Virelo? Oh my God, why didn’t you say so earlier? I haven’t seen her in forever! She has a legacy to be envious of.”

“Hmm,” was all I managed. Avaline’s name was sure pulling open several doors. It hit me with a pang of jealousy. “I’m here about Abigail who was Avaline’s best friend. Avaline mentioned her to me and I’ve been trying to track her down.”

She sighed, looking around the empty lobby. Her face went through a series of dramatic expressions.

“Look, honey, I can’t really talk about her here. NDAs, you know? The agency is super strict about the girls who leave. They want to pretend they never existed once they stop making them money.”

Then she leaned over the desk, lowering her voice several tones. “But honestly, why are you looking for Abigail? She hasn’t worked here in over two years.

Quick, say something, Liora.

“I heard she was good at her job and brought in a lot of money, high-profile clients. I’m…considering opportunities.”

She gave me a shark-like smile. “She was the best. I’d barely been here two years but I learned all there was to know about her. She was our top earner for years. She brought in politicians, CEOs and a couple of actors. With a smile that could charm anyone, she made the agency a fortune. Then one day…she was gone.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

I nodded, encouraging. “What happened?”

She hesitated then shrugged. “Can’t talk about that here, I told you. Except you’re willing to put me on a monthly payroll.” She glanced at the clock. “I get off in an hour. There’s a café two blocks down. La Perla. Meet me there if you want the gossip.”

Two hours later, Sofia finally strolled in draped in a faux fur coat, looking like she owned the café itself.

She sat down and placed an order for a drink for us both. I was more interested in what she had to say. When the waiter went to get the orders, she leaned over the table.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting. My supervisor can be a d**k. But seriously, I totally feel a vibe with you. It’s like we are soul sisters or something. I just get people, you know? And you look like you’ve been through it.”

I wanted to roll my eyes at the nonsense but I forced a thin smile and went along with it. “I feel it too, Sofia. Really. Soul sisters.”

Our orders soon arrived in tall glasses.

After a sip, Sofia began talking. “Abigail was a legend here. The agency loved her. She brought in more high-profile clients than anyone. Even tech-moguls and Arabian princes all wanted her. She had this work ethic, you know? She made the agency millions, but the second she was gone? They erased her files like she was an error in the system. It’s disgusting.”

I drew to the edge of my seat. “What happened to her?”

Sofia’s eyes darted to the door and then back to me. “They said she jumped off the Meridian penthouse where she lived. That building is freaking twelve stories up. They called it a suicide.”

“Was it?”

Sofia shrugged, but her eyes were saying something else. “The official story is that her fiancé called off the wedding and she just couldn’t take the heartbreak. The tabloids painted the whole sad girl story. But Abigail didn’t strike me as the type to kill herself over a man. She was too smart for that. I called her the Great White Shark.”

I felt a cold weight in my chest.

“And something else… her neighbors reported that her sister visited but couldn’t find her in her apartment and after thorough search, they found her body at the back of the building. Skull cracked and all… it was messy.”

“I need to find her sister. I have to speak with her. Do you know how I can get in contact with her?”

Sofia’s chatty persona died instantly. “Oh, honey. No. I’ve said way too much already. We aren’t allowed to disclose family details. That’s how people get fired. Or worse.”

Instead of arguing, I just reached into my bag and pulled out a roll of hundred dollar bills. I laid three of them on the table.

Her greedy eyes sparkled, although dimmed by caution. “I mean, it’s really risky. I don’t know who you are or if you were sent by our competitors.”

I dropped two more hundreds.

“What are you to her anyway?” She asked, her hand hovering near the cash.

“A friend,” I lied smoothly. “I just got into town. Abigail sent me a message a while ago, telling me to look after her sister if anything ever happened. I didn’t understand what she meant until I heard the news.”

Sofia looked at me for a long moment, then nodded. “You’re smart and I like that. A girl has got to look out for her own.”

She swiped the money off the table and reached into her purse. She pulled out a small scrap of paper and slid it across the table toward me.

“I copied this off the server before it got wiped off. I had a feeling someone might come looking. Plus, I’m a bit of a hacker on the side. I kinda know way more about the people in this city than I should. If you ever need dirt on anyone else, you come see Sofia. Okay?”

I ignored her and grabbed the paper. On it was a name and a residential address in a much humbler part of the city.

“That’s where the sister stays,” She said. Standing up, she smoothed her coat. “Good luck, soul sister. Stay safe.”