Page 62 of The Maid's Secret

“So you really did work at the Grimthorpe mansion?” I ask.

“I did. Mom couldn’t make the rent on just her maid’s salary, so I dropped out of high school to help her. Things didn’t go as planned. Grimthorpe was an awful man, Molly. Do you understand?”

“He took advantage of Gran,” I say.

“Not only her,” she replies. Her arms reach around her middle as if she needs them there to remain steady.

Something in me breaks. My tears spill with alarming force. I’m powerless to stop them.

“Your gran never knew,” my mother says. “I never told her what happened. I just ran away. Then, in my stupidity, I shacked up with a man even worse than Grimthorpe. I came back, though.”

“To have me,” I say, putting the pieces together.

“Yeah. I stayed clean for a while, did my best to look after you. But I was so young, Molly, and so confused. I numbed myself any way I could.”

“A fly-by-night possessed you—that’s what Gran always said.”

“She had a way with words, didn’t she?” my mother replies. “Fly-by-nights might just be my worst habit. It’s like I can’t see the truth until it’s too late. The one who took your egg, Molly, he’s a dangerous man. His gang was paid a lot of money to pull off that heist. I used to work for him, but when I found out what he’d done, how he stole your egg, I quit. Then I ran away. I’ve been in a safe house ever since. I’ve been trying to get to you.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Because I know those men, Molly. If you find that egg, they’ll kill you. They really will. And if they hear I squealed to you, they’ll kill me, too.”

“Why not tell the police?” I ask.

“The police? You think they’re gonna help?”

“I don’t know what to think,” I say. “Why should I believe what you’re telling me? You admit you’re a thief.”

“Anyone can become a thief under the wrong circumstances, even your gran,” she says.

“Impossible,” I reply.

“Is it?” says my mother. “It’s because of your gran that the Grimthorpes got their hands on that Fabergé in the first place,” she says. “My mother always said that egg represented her deepest regrets and that she ran away with it to start a new life.”

“But it was the Grimthorpes’ treasure, not hers,” I say.

“At some point, it was hers. She basically admitted to having stolen it. Don’t you see? All it takes is one moment of desperation to turn a good egg into a bad one. I’m not a bad egg, Molly. Neither was she.”

“If that’s true, why didn’t you come back for me? You should have returned to Gran and me long ago.”

“No,” she answers as she shakes her head. “Leaving you with her was the best thing I ever did. Just look at you now.”

She smiles then. The look on her face is such a medley, but if I’mreading it correctly, it’s sadness, tinged with pride. Something in me relents, and I suddenly feel the urge to reach out and hug her.

“Molly,” she says as she holds her trembling arms out toward me. “Did you get any money when the egg disappeared? You got insurance cash, right? That’s what I was hoping for—that you’d net out okay in the end.”

“No,” I say. “It’s not working out that way.”

“Oh,” she replies as her arms drop to her sides. “But you’re famous now. You must be raking it in from appearances, right? I hate to ask, but do you have a few hundred you can throw my way? I’m on the run here—for you. I can’t go back now. I’ve risked life and limb to make sure you know the danger is real. You gotta help me out.”

I stare at her in disbelief. I can’t believe my ears. Just when I was about to open myself to the possibility that my mother was actually doing something for me rather than for herself, she shows her true colors yet again.

“You want my money,” I say. “That’s why you’re here.”

“Molly, honey. I’m your mom. I want the best for you. Please,” she says.

“I have nothing for you,” I reply. “No money and certainly no feelings of warmth.”