CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 3
THE SECRET BEHIND THE MAID’S UNIFORM
The Blackwood mansion had always been filled with secrets.
Every room had a story.
Every hallway carried whispers.
Every person who entered those golden gates came with a reason.
Some wanted money.
Some wanted power.
Some wanted Adrian Blackwood.
But there was one secret that belonged only to Elena.
A secret hidden beneath a simple maid uniform.
A secret that could change everything.
Three years earlier…
Before Elena Carter became Elena Blackwood.
Before the expensive house.
Before the powerful husband.
Before the world knew her name.
She was just a woman trying to survive.
Elena grew up in a small town far away from the world Adrian belonged to.
She never dreamed of luxury.
She never cared about status.
Her parents taught her one thing:
A person's value was never measured by what they owned.
It was measured by who they were when nobody was watching.
But life was not always kind.
When Elena was twenty-two, her father became seriously ill.
Medical bills appeared faster than she could pay them.
She worked multiple jobs.
Morning shifts.
Night shifts.
Anything that could keep her family alive.
That was when she met Adrian.
The first time Elena saw Adrian Blackwood…
She did not know who he was.
She only saw a tired man sitting alone in a small café during a storm.
Everyone else avoided him.
Not because they disliked him.
Because they recognized him.
The famous Adrian Blackwood.
The billionaire everyone feared.
But Elena didn't know his reputation.
She only saw someone who looked lonely.
"Are you going to sit there all night?"
Adrian looked up.
He was surprised.
Nobody spoke to him like that.
Elena pointed at the empty cup in front of him.
"You have been staring at that coffee for twenty minutes."
For a moment, Adrian didn't answer.
Then something unexpected happened.
He smiled.
A small smile.
Almost invisible.
"Do you always talk to strangers this way?"
Elena shrugged.
"Only strangers who look like they need someone to talk to."
That was the first time someone saw Adrian Blackwood as a person.
Not as a name.
Not as a fortune.
Not as power.
Just Adrian.
And he never forgot it.
Months later, they met again.
Then again.
And slowly...
The man who trusted nobody began trusting her.
The woman who feared nothing began loving him.
But their relationship was never simple.
When Adrian introduced Elena to the Blackwood family, the reaction was immediate.
Disapproval.
Judgment.
Cold smiles.
"She is not from our world."
"She doesn't understand our lifestyle."
"She will embarrass the family."
Elena heard every word.
And Adrian saw every wound those words created.
"I can leave."
Elena told him one night.
They stood outside his apartment.
Adrian looked at her.
"Leave?"
"Your family is right."
His expression changed.
"No."
"Adrian..."
"No."
His voice was firm.
"You are not a problem to solve."
A pause.
"You are the only person who makes this life feel real."
Against everyone’s wishes…
Adrian married Elena.
Quietly.
Without a huge ceremony.
Without a public announcement.
Because Adrian knew what the world would do.
They would judge her.
They would investigate her.
They would try to destroy what they didn't understand.
So he protected her.
But Elena wanted something else.
She wanted to know who people really were.
That was why she chose the maid uniform.
When Elena first suggested the idea, Adrian thought she was joking.
"You want to work as a maid?"
She nodded.
"For a while."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you are my wife."
She smiled.
"And that is exactly why I need to know."
She explained.
"If people know my name, they will pretend."
A pause.
"But if they think I am nobody..."
She looked at him.
"I will finally see the truth."
Adrian hated the idea.
Not because he underestimated her.
Because he knew how cruel people could be.
"You don't deserve to be treated badly just to prove a point."
Elena held his hand.
"I know."
A soft smile.
"But if I don't understand the people around us, how can I protect our family?"
In the end…
Adrian agreed.
But he made one promise.
"If anyone hurts you, you tell me."
Elena nodded.
"I promise."
But she didn't.
Not always.
Because Elena was stubborn.
She wanted to handle things herself.
She didn't want Adrian to destroy everyone who offended her.
She loved the gentle side of him.
And she feared the darkness inside him.
Back in the present…
Victoria Laurent had discovered a piece of that secret.
But not the entire truth.
She knew Elena had hidden something.
She knew Elena's past was unusual.
But she didn't know why.
And that made her dangerous.
Inside the Blackwood mansion, Adrian found Elena looking through old photographs.
He sat beside her.
"You miss that time?"
She smiled.
"Sometimes."
"Even after everything?"
She looked at him.
"Those days showed me something important."
"What?"
"That you loved me before I had anything."
Adrian became quiet.
Because that was true.
Before the mansion.
Before the companies.
Before the Blackwood name.
He loved Elena when nobody else knew who she was.
But then Elena noticed something.
A photograph was missing.
An old photograph from before their marriage.
"Adrian."
He looked at her.
"Where is this one?"
He frowned.
"I don't know."
Her expression changed.
Because that photograph was important.
Very important.
It was taken the night she met Adrian's family for the first time.
The night someone threatened her.
The night someone told her:
"A woman like you will never belong in this family."
Meanwhile…
Victoria sat in her private office.
The missing photograph was in her hands.
She looked at Elena's younger face.
Then opened a file.
Inside were documents Elena had never seen.
Medical records.
Family information.
And one shocking piece of evidence.
Victoria smiled.
"Now I understand."
She picked up her phone.
The call connected.
"Do you have proof?"
Victoria smiled.
"Enough to destroy her marriage."
A pause.
"Adrian Blackwood thinks Elena is innocent."
Her eyes became cold.
"But he doesn't know the truth about the woman hiding behind the maid uniform."
That night, Adrian held Elena while she slept.
He believed he knew everything about the woman he loved.
Her kindness.
Her courage.
Her loyalty.
But he didn't know the one thing that Elena had been too afraid to tell him.
The reason she had been desperate to hide her past.
The reason she feared losing him.
The reason she still woke up from nightmares.
Because before Elena became Mrs. Blackwood…
She was someone else.
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And Victoria Laurent was about to reveal exactly who.
END OF CHAPTER 3
