A week later, I was forced to admit that finding the laptop was harder than I'd thought. Given the nature of its content, Becker kept it somewhere very secure and very private. I'd looked at all the obvious hiding spots, and even some less obvious ones. But nothing had come up yet.

I'd found his collection of flogs, whips, and paddles, which were so well-hidden, I wasn't even sure Mrs. Becker was aware of their existence. I'd also found their seventeen-year-old daughter's secret drug stash, with Molly, coke, weed, and a few other substances I hadn't been able to identify.

But that damned laptop was remaining hidden.

Today, I was working in Becker's home office again, and I'd look harder than I had before. Part of me was convinced it was in there, even though I hadn't found anything on the first try.

I wasn't paired with Ana anymore, but with Lupita, who was a few years younger than me. She was sweet but shy, which made the days much more dull than they'd been with Ana. That also made my secret mission more complicated, but I still managed. I'd gotten used to being sneaky, since I'd had to pretend for the rooms that had security cameras in them.

At least I'd been right, and not a single time during my week there had I met Truman Becker in person. I'd barely glimpsed at him from afar once, and had come across his wife on another occasion. She was just back from her Hawaiian retreat, but it seemed the weight of her hard life was already crushing her. Although, it was my understanding that her only responsibility was to look pretty and spend her husband's money. Caroline Becker had been a Miss USA, a failed actress, and was now a trophy wife. I'd say she'd hit the jackpot, but I knew how twisted her husband was.

The fact that I hadn't encountered Becker so far helped soothe Lex's nerves a lot. He still wasn't comfortable with me leaving every morning, but at least he allowed me to go. Like the control freak he was, he'd set up an entire protocol to ensure maximum security for me. In the morning, he accompanied me to work with two men driving us there. They usually left me a block or so away, where one of the guys came out of the car and walked by my side all the way to the service entrance, acting like we weren't together.

When I came out in the afternoon, another man was usually waiting nearby, ready to escort me again. When I wasn't with a colleague, he'd take me to the SUV and drive me home with his partner. If I was out with someone I couldn't shake, for fear of blowing my cover, the bodyguard would take the bus with us. He'd ride along with me, and by the time we got out at the stop the team had strategically chosen, the SUV had caught up with us and was waiting a few streets away.

That didn't protect me from anything that might happen inside the penthouse, but if Becker decided to take care of me outside to avoid any suspicion, then I'd be safe.

While Lupita and I made our way to Becker's office, I reminded myself that all I had to do to make it all stop was find the laptop. Once I had, Lex and I would work on taking down Becker with its content, and I'd be officially safe.

As soon as we entered the room, my eyes were instantly drawn to the wall facing the desk. That was my favorite part of the whole penthouse.

When Lola had told us her story, I hadn't paid much attention to the safe word Becker had given her. 'Chrysalis' was as good as any, and definitely not one that might be used during the sexual act. But as it turned out, Becker had a bit of a passion for butterflies. And that specific wall was proof of it.

Pinned in frames and organized in eighteen columns and seven rows, a hundred and twenty-six butterflies and moths were neatly arranged on that wall in Becker's office. They varied in sizes and colors, and the sheer quantity of them was impressive. It looked like an exhibit in a museum, with gold plates underneath each frame to display the scientific name of the butterfly. All the frames were identical in size, but most of them were made of wood while a few, scattered among the others, had a golden finition.

I wasn't much into insects myself, but the bright colors and varying shapes definitely caught the eye. So much so that I often found myself looking at the wall instead of working or looking for the laptop.

After a few seconds of staring at it, I shook myself out of it and grabbed my dusting brush. Despite Lupita's presence, I managed to search the office in a way that was inconspicuous. There were no windows, one of the narrower walls had a library built in that went from floor to ceiling, and there was a closet in a corner that held a few office supplies and a printer.

There really weren't that many spots where something could be hidden, and I'd looked everywhere already. On my first time here with Ana, I'd even pulled on all the books, in case there was some secret passage hidden behind the library. But nothing. The closet had proved as uninteresting, and there were no hidden compartments in the desk. The carpeted floor showed no signs of a built-in safe or secret stash, either.

Maybe today I'd stumble on something, though. Lupita vacuumed the carpet while I dusted the shelves, and I then moved on with polishing the exotic wood of the chest of drawers behind the desk. This allowed me to open them individually and check their content, only to find nothing. Lupita was done with her tasks before I was, so I encouraged her to move on to the next room, hoping I'd get enough alone time to search more thoroughly.

She accepted with a nod and a small smile, and as soon as she was done, I closed the door behind her. For ten frantic minutes, I analyzed every inch I could cover, looking for a hidden button, a loose panel on a piece of furniture, a wobbly wall... I searched the closet again, behind the shelves, the floors...

There was nothing.

Defeated, I closed the closet and walked back into the office, my eyes lost upfront. If the computer wasn't here as I'd thought, it could be anywhere. And that meant it could take a month to find it. I wasn't staying here for that long. Lex wouldn't allow it, regardless.

The butterflies distracted me, so I answered their hypnotic call. I stepped forward until I'd reached them, and took a moment to admire them from up close, which I hadn't really done until now. It seemed they were perfectly preserved, their colors still intact, and I imagined it was thanks to the lack of direct sunlight. Was it the reason why Becker had chosen a windowless room for his personal office? So he could have his collection and keep it safe from UV light?

I went along the row that was at my eyes' height, reading the names associated with each specimen, taking in their colors and sizes. It was crazy just how different they could be.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" a low and masculine voice asked behind me.

Oh, God...

My entire body tensed as the tendrils on the back of my neck rose vertically. My heartbeat pounded in my ears and my breathing increased, panic over-flooding me. I knew this voice. Even if it was my first time hearing it live, I'd heard it too often not to recognize it.

I was going to die. I'd never see Lex again. This was the end.

No, maybe he wouldn't recognize me. Maybe he'd just fire me, in which case we'd need another way to get to his computer. But it was still better than being killed.

Doing my absolute best to hide how frenzied I was feeling inside, I slowly turned around, my eyes down on the red floor. Of him, all I could see were his shiny leather shoes and the gray pants of his suit.

"Lo siento, señor Becker," I let out, hoping my distraught wasn't too obvious. As a maid who'd just been caught slacking off, it made sense I'd be nervous.

"It's fine. My collection has fascinated more people than I can count."

He was in my way, unmoving, and I wasn't sure what I should do. Protocol demanded that I grab my things and flee the room. But he didn't seem like he wanted me to get out. I also wasn't supposed to have understood the way he'd dismissed the gravity of my presence here.

"They come from all over the world," he continued, still going on about his butterflies.

Alright, now it would be rude and fireable of me to leave. Ignoring my racing heart, I forced myself to look up. I couldn't get thrown out of his staff for being inconsiderate to the boss. Not without the fucking laptop.

Just like I knew what his voice sounded like, I knew his face. I'd seen pictures of him, dozens of them, as well as the videos from his CCTV. I could have easily recognized him in a crowd. But seeing the man in the flesh was entirely different.

Truman Becker was an attractive man, but not in a classic way. There was something about him that was purely primal, like a raw magnetism only few men had. He was clever, and one could guess it from his features, and thanks to the light behind his eyes. As tall as Lex, or barely smaller, he was wearing a suit that was tailored to perfection, following his lean frame without a fold.

Mads Mikkelsen came to mind as I looked at him, seeing his face for the first time in real life. He looked like an actor who could easily get the part of the magnetic villain, or the morally gray character women would swoon for while feeling a little guilty about it. I'd seen a few pictures of him from when he was younger, and he was undoubtedly the best version of himself now, in his mid-fifties, aged and matured like fine cheese.

All I could think of was that he didn't look like a monster. Why would such a man do what he'd done to Lola? He was rich, charismatic, fit, attractive... There were probably thousands of women in this city who'd love to become his sex slave, who'd let him flog them, hurt them, make them bleed...

But the man before me was a deranged bastard. A twisted fuck wrapped into an outside that didn't match his putrid inside.

He spoke, but I didn't hear his words, deafened by the sound of my blood pulsing in my eardrums. Fuck, I needed to get a grip.

"Which one's your favorite?" he asked again.

Before I could answer, I reminded myself that I wasn't supposed to understand him. "Lo siento, no entiendo."

"Favorito?" he tried with an approximative accent, pointing toward the wall of butterflies.

There wasn't any trace of shock on his face. No questions, no surprise, no doubts... Had he not recognized me? Was it possible that I'd been right all along, and he didn't even know I existed? Or at least not what I looked like?

Before my attitude could become suspicious, I turned to the wall and looked for a butterfly that stood out from the others. I pointed to a blue one, so shiny it almost looked like metal.

"Ah, the Morpho Didius. Excellent choice. I've seen a few alive, and their wings catch the sun in such a vivid way, you get flashes of luminous blue when they are flying. This one comes from Brazil." With his hands behind his back, he came closer to the one I'd pointed to and examined it from up close. "My personal favorite would be this one," he continued, moving further from me to point at a butterfly in the middle of the bottom row. "Although, my favorite usually changes with my mood. But this one has been on top for a while now."

Since he was pointing at it and waiting for my reaction, I allowed myself to go there and look at the specimen. Pointing was an international language, after all.

The one he was showing wasn't much to look at. It was small, barely an inch by two, with a yellow and brown pattern. Catasticta Lycurgus was written on the plate. Out of all the beautiful insects hanging on the wall, I'd have never expected this one to be anyone's favorite.

Since I wasn't sure what to say, I just nodded and smiled awkwardly, eager to leave this room and get away from him. The longer we stayed together, the more likely it was that he'd find me familiar. Desperate to get away, I did some weird curtsy, went to get my things, and dipped.

With the fastest pace I couldn't muster without looking questionable, I made my way back to the staff section of the penthouse. My heart was still racing, and my breathing had actually gotten worse even since I'd left the home office.

Anxiety was making me look behind me every few steps, convinced he'd send someone after me, or try to catch up to ask where he knew me from.

Shit, what if it hit him afterward? What if he was looking for me on his computer right now? I'd promised Lex I wouldn't take any unnecessary risks, and I'd meant it. But it was also possible that Becker would never realize who I was. Leaving now meant we'd never find the evidence we needed against him.

Still in a rush, I walked into the locker room, put my crate down, and sprinted to my locker. I retrieved my phone from it, and went to check on the stalls to make sure I was alone. Once I was certain there wasn't anyone here with me, I went to sit on one of the benches and dialed Lex. I needed him to talk me down.

"Andrea, what's wrong?" he asked as soon as he picked up. Since I wasn't allowed to have my phone during my shift, and even less to make phone calls, he instantly knew something was up.

"Lex, he saw me! He talked to me," I replied, frantic. "I was in his office, and I didn't hear him come, and he—"

"Slow down. I can barely understand you. Who are you talking about?"

"Becker! I was in his office, and he came in. He talked to me for a moment, and he saw my face clearly. I'm so scared!" Lex didn't answer right away, and I wondered what was going on. I needed him to reassure me, to help me out of my panic attack. "Alexander, say something!"

"I think you're good," he eventually spoke. I hadn't expected that from him. Not at all.

"What? How do you know?"

"He's on his home computer right now. I'm looking at his screen. If he'd found you familiar or something, he'd be looking for where he might know you from. But he's working on some merger instead. So breathe, Andrea. In... and out..."

Knowing that Becker wasn't acting suspiciously helped lower my anxiety. I focused on taking in deep and long breaths, following Lex's guidance, and within a few seconds, I was already feeling much better.

"Do you want to come back home?" he asked once I was breathing normally again.

"I'll be fired if I do. We're so close, Lex. I can feel it in my bones."

"Did you find anything?"

"No, not yet. But we were wrong. It's not in his home office."

"Where else could it be?" he wondered

"That corridor we saw him come in and out of with the laptop leads to five more rooms. I'll search them thoroughly, and the laptop will have to come up at some point. I have two of those rooms to clean today, so I need to keep going."

"Alright. I'll monitor Becker's activity on my side. Take your phone with you, and if he's doing anything suspicious, I'll call you."

"I can't have my phone."

"I don't care. Hide it however you can. But I need to be able to warn you, Andrea."

I took a moment to think it over. I couldn't possibly have the phone tucked into my panties. That would be uncomfortable, and that fucker could slip out at any point. If I'd had larger breasts, I would have been able to hide it in my bra, but it would be too obvious given what I was working with. The dress had no pockets, and the fabric of the apron was too thin. It would be clear that I had a phone in there. I was also not using my prison pocket.

"Do you still have access to the electric system of the penthouse?" I asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Can you lower the voltage twice in a row? To make everything blink in here?"

I heard him type on the other side of the line and waited for him to try. The electric system of the penthouse was controlled by an electronic panel, which was linked to the internet in order to allow the company in charge to rectify issues and such. It could also let an intruder to tamper with it, though. Which was what I wanted Lex to do.

The neon lights in the room suddenly decreased, increased again, and did it a second time. "It worked!" I enthusiastically declared.

"Alright, so if I suspect Becker has suspicions, I do this again?"

"Yes, that's perfect. I'll make sure the lights are on in the rooms I'm taking care of. If I haven't contacted you again within five minutes afterward, do it again."

"And if you still don't after that?"

A long silence followed, where we both imagined the worst for a few seconds. I was the one who pulled us out of it. "I will, Lex. If you warn me early enough, there's no way Becker would have time to plan anything."

"Right. I guess I'll just make sure he's not looking into you."

"Yes, you do that, and I kee—"

Someone entered the locker room, making me stop my words at once. Fuck!

Thankfully, it wasn't Mrs. Reed, but another maid. One I'd caught doing what I was doing in the past. I was good, she wouldn't snitch on me. "Tengo que irme, mi amor. Te amo," I told Lex.

I gave the intruding maid an awkward smile and made up some excuse about a clingy boyfriend. No need to remind her that snitches got stitches, since she was aware that I knew she also took illicit phone call breaks in here.

I spent the rest of the day watching the lights. While keeping up with the cleaning, my search for the computer, and the little conversation Lupita and I exchanged, I remained mindful of the fixtures or lamps. I trusted Lex vigilance, and if Becker did anything that indicated he might have recognized me, Lex would warn me. I'd be out of the building before the man could even start strategizing.

We might actually use the light signal in the future. It was a great way for Lex to warn me of an incoming danger. With it, I'd feel less blind, and Lex would feel like he could protect me.

To my great displeasure, the laptop wasn't in the two potential rooms I searched that day. One of them was quite large, though, so I might need one or two more rounds in it to fully cover it. That meant at least ten more days of this.

By the time the day ended, I forced myself to have a positive mindset about it. Lex was ready to abort the mission at any point, and if he felt I was losing hope, he'd use it as an excuse to make me quit.

With every day that ended in a failure, it seemed more and more probable that we'd have to disappear together and live like fugitives.

I managed to leave the building with only Ana by my side, so after wishing her a good evening, I followed Hank to the SUV.

"How was your day?" he asked after we'd taken a few steps.

"Long. And not very fruitful. How was yours?"

"Broke my Sudoku record. Two minutes and ten seconds for a hard one."

"Oh, really? Congrats!" I cheered. "Did you try that thing I told you about?"

"I did, and it worked. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Lex is the one who taught it to me. He had nothing better to do for a few months, so he completed thousands of Sudokus."

We chatted for a little longer until we reached the car. He opened the door for me, closed it once I was seated inside, and went to the passenger side.

As they