Chapter 1

I worked as the Shaw family's all-around housekeeper for 10 years, earning a monthly salary of $50,000.

The very first thing Arthur Shaw's fiancée did after joining the family was make an example out of me.

"A housekeeper making $50,000 a month? Who do you think you are? Did you brainwash the Shaws or something?

"Starting today, your salary is being cut to $3,000. Your only job is cleaning. You won't be responsible for anything else."

The Shaws stayed silent and let her humiliate me.

I didn't make even a peep of protest as I smiled and signed the pay-cut agreement.

A few days later, the entire Shaw family descended into chaos.

Arthur's mother, Audrey Chase, was no longer receiving my nightly aromatherapy sessions. So, her migraine flared up, and she ended up smashing up the living room.

Arthur's father, Frederick Shaw, no longer had the medicinal meals I prepared. So, his gout flared up, sending him straight to the emergency room.

Arthur's international video conference fell apart without me providing simultaneous interpretation, costing the company projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

His fiancée pointed at me in frustration. "Why did you stop taking care of everyone?"

I waved the agreement in my hand. "A $3,000-a-month housekeeper clocks out as soon as the floors are clean."

Chapter 1 You Get What You Pay For

A stack of financial statements slammed onto the coffee table with a dull thud.

"Sophia, I looked through the Shaw family's old financial records. You're a housekeeper making $50,000 a month. Do you honestly think that makes any sense in today's economy?"

I looked up.

The woman standing over me with her arms crossed was Bianca Vance, the fiancée of the Shaw family's heir, Arthur Shaw.

I had heard she had a master's degree from overseas and was a senior finance executive.

Regardless, I never expected the first thing she would do after joining the Shaw family was come after me.

"Ms. Vance, my salary was set personally by Old Mr. Shaw 10 years ago. That $50,000 covered all the work I performed as the family's all-around housekeeper," I said calmly.

"An all-around housekeeper? That's hilarious." Bianca laughed.

"You're just a glorified maid who serves coffee, cleans, and cooks. I could hire any middle-aged woman from an employment agency for $3,000 a month. Why should we pay you $50,000?"

I ignored her and turned to Arthur. "Mr. Arthur, is this what you want too?"

Arthur locked his phone and looked away.

"Sophia, Bianca and I are getting married next month. She'll be the lady of the house from then on, so she'll naturally be taking over household management. Business hasn't been doing well lately, and the family's expenses have been high. You should try to be understanding."

Audrey brushed dust off her freshly filed nails before speaking in an unhurried voice.

"That's right, Sophia. You've been with our family for 10 years. We've always treated you like one of us. Talking about money hurts relationships. Besides, you're a single woman with no family to support. $50,000 a month really is a bit much."

Frederick set his coffee cup down.

"Sophia, young people should know how to be grateful. The Shaw family gave you a roof over your head. You can't care only about money and forget the people who helped you. $3,000 isn't exactly a pittance. Plenty of college graduates out there don't even make that much."

I looked at the people I had served for the past 10 years, and a chill spread through my heart.

It had only been six months since Arthur's grandfather, Harrison Shaw, passed away. Yet, they were already frothing at the mouth to throw me aside.

"All right." I nodded.

Bianca froze, clearly not expecting me to agree so easily.

She had obviously prepared a whole speech full of cutting remarks, but every word died in her throat in the face of my easy acceptance.

"Where's the pay-cut agreement? Bring it over. I'll sign it."

Bianca pulled out a contract. "Read it carefully. Starting today, your monthly salary is being reduced to $3,000. Your only responsibility is cleaning. You won't be handling anything else."

I picked up a pen and signed my name without a moment's hesitation.

Arthur frowned. "Sophia, Bianca is an overseas-educated professional. She's applying the flat organizational structure used by major tech companies to optimize the way this household is run. Don't be so resistant."

I almost laughed. "Mr. Arthur, does flat organizational structure mean paying an employee $3,000 while expecting them to do $50,000 worth of work?"

"That's a ridiculous argument!" Arthur raised his voice. "Bianca already explained things to you. It's called cutting costs and improving efficiency.

"You only made $50,000 because no one in the family knew enough to manage you. You took advantage of our ignorance."

I didn't even bother responding. Instead, I turned to Frederick. The pain from his gout had left his face pale.

"Sophia, don't be upset," Frederick said. "Arthur has an international video conference tonight. It involves financing worth several hundred million dollars.

"Just handle the simultaneous interpretation first. We can discuss everything else later."

I pointed at the antique clock on the wall.

"Mr. Shaw, it's 6 p.m. The market rate for simultaneous interpretation is $3,000 an hour. If you need rush service, you'll have to sign a separate contract."

Chapter 2 Not in My Job Description

Bianca let out a cold laugh. "So what if you're a simultaneous interpreter? Do you really think the world would stop turning without you?

"I bought Arthur the newest AI interpreting earbuds. The underlying technology is a hundred times better than a human interpreter like you. What's more, they don't come with your attitude."

I nodded, untied my apron, folded it neatly, and set it on the table. "Then, I wish you every success with your AI-powered solution."

I turned and walked toward the door.

Audrey stood there holding a mug of herbal tonic that had long since gone cold.

"Sophia, you're really clocking out just like that? You've worked for this family for 10 years, and we've never mistreated you. Swallow your pride, and I'll have Bianca raise your salary to $4,000."

I stopped and looked back. "Mrs. Shaw, $4,000 isn't enough to pay for your bedtime aromatherapy."

Audrey's expression darkened. "What an ungrateful brat."

Bianca called out sarcastically from behind me, "Let her leave. We've fed her greed. I'll hire three cleaners from the temp agency tomorrow. They'll cost less than $5,000 altogether, and their work will be far more detailed than hers."

I pushed the front door open and slowly walked back to the tiny room I rented on the back street behind Shaw Estate.

This was the first time in 10 years that I had gotten off work at 6 p.m.

Now, I no longer had to prepare medicinal meals, translate business documents, and suffer endless complaints from Audrey.

Instead, I could cook myself a simple bowl of noodles in clear broth and curl up on the couch to watch TV.

My phone started vibrating nonstop. It was the Shaw family's internal work chat.

Bianca was busy issuing orders.

"Everyone in this house will be required to clock in and be evaluated under a KPI system starting today."

"I'll be putting Mr. Shaw's medication schedule and Mrs. Shaw's sleep cycle into Excel spreadsheets."

"We're going to build a seamless, end-to-end health management system."

I looked at the screen full of meaningless corporate buzzwords and immediately muted the chat.

After I finished my noodles, I took a hot shower and went to bed.

As I closed my eyes, I couldn't help but recall how I got to where I was today. It all began 10 years ago.

My grandmother had been lying in the emergency room when Harrison pressed a bank card into my hand. "Kid, take this and save her. If you make something of yourself, help me look after the Shaw family for 10 years."

Luckily for me, tomorrow would be the last day of those 10 years.

I rolled over and drifted into a deep sleep.

…

I was standing in the kitchen at Shaw Estate at 7 a.m. sharp.

The cheap cook Bianca had just hired was frantically chopping vegetables.

Frederick took one bite of the food on his plate and immediately spat it out. "What is this slop?"

Bianca came downstairs in her slippers. "Mr. Shaw, this is the healthy low-calorie meal I ordered for you. It fits today's holistic wellness approach."

Frederick's face turned livid. "I have gout, but you served me seafood salad?"

Bianca froze for a moment. Then, she turned and glared at me as I wiped down the table.

"Sophia, did you do this on purpose? Mr. Shaw has gout. Why didn't you make that clear during the handover? What were you trying to pull?"

I kept wiping down the mahogany dining table without even looking up.

"Ms. Vance, the pay cut agreement was perfectly clear. I'm only a cleaner now. A $3,000 cleaner is only responsible for wiping tables and sweeping floors.

"An employer's medical history, dietary restrictions, and health management fall under the responsibilities of a private nutritionist and a senior house manager.

"Since you're so determined to flatten the management structure, you should know that every job has its own set of responsibilities."

Bianca was left speechless with rage. Eventually, she snapped, "Stop hiding behind that excuse. How did you manage everything in the past? Why was Mr. Shaw fine eating seafood back then?"

I straightened up as I replied blandly, "Because I was making $50,000 back then. I kept Mr. Shaw's gout under control with medicinal meals made from my own proprietary recipes.

"Now that my salary has been cut, those recipes are my intellectual property. Naturally, they are not included in the services you get for $3,000."

Bianca ground her teeth in rage. "When you were making $50,000, everything you developed belonged to the Shaw family. Taking those recipes with you now is theft of company property."

I looked at her coldly. "Ms. Vance, if the Shaw family is a company, then you're more than free to sue me. Do you need me to give you the phone number for the Shaw family's legal department?"

Chapter 3 Everything Has a Price

Arthur came downstairs with dark circles under his eyes. He looked completely drained, and his tie hung crooked around his neck.

"Enough," he grumbled, rubbing his temples.

"Arthur, how did the international meeting go last night?" Bianca hurried over. "Did your AI earbuds steal the show?"

Arthur had a complicated look on his face as he looked at her. "That stupid thing translated core technology as the core of an apple. The clients thought we were joking and ended the video call on the spot."

Bianca's smile froze. "How could that happen? I paid $20,000 for the newest model."

She refused to admit she was wrong.

"The AI is probably still learning. You need to feed it more training data. Besides, those clients probably had heavy accents. That threw off the algorithm."

Arthur waved her off impatiently. "Forget it. If the project's dead, it's dead. This loss doesn't matter as long as we still hold the exclusive license for Astraea Tech's core algorithm."

Audrey walked out with her hair a mess. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, and bloodshot veins covered the whites of her eyes.

She had obviously not slept at all without receiving my aromatherapy the night before.

"Sophia, go light my calming incense," she ordered out of habit.

I picked up the mop and started mopping the floor. "Mrs. Shaw, lighting incense is part of the butler's job. I'm a janitor now. I only clean floors."

Audrey flew into a rage. "You've got some nerve. I pay your salary, yet you dare talk back to me?"

Bianca quickly grabbed Audrey's arm.

"Mrs. Shaw, don't beg her. All that mystical aromatherapy stuff of hers is just snake oil. I brought you some extra-strength melatonin from overseas. It's a lot more scientific than her stuff."

Audrey hesitated. "Will it really work? My head's been killing me."

"Absolutely. It acts directly on your central nervous system and helps regulate your sleep cycle."

Bianca stuffed a bottle of pills into Audrey's hand.

…

I had finished mopping the entire first floor by noon. Once I washed the mop, I checked the time.

"It's 12 p.m. I'm on my lunch break."

So, I untied my apron and got ready to leave.

Arthur stepped in front of the door.

"Sophia, stop making a scene," he said, lowering his voice.

"We're hosting an important dinner in a few days. Bianca's parents are coming to discuss the wedding arrangements and an investment. It affects the Shaw family's business for the next year. You'll be the head chef. Just follow the same menu standards as before."

I looked at the matter-of-fact look on his face and replied blandly, "Mr. Shaw, that costs extra."

"Is money all you ever think about?" Arthur roared. "You've been living off this family for 10 years. And now cooking one meal is too much to ask?"

I ignored him, walked around him, and pushed the door open.

Bianca sneered and pulled out a stack of account statements. "Arthur, don't waste your breath. I went through the household accounts today and found a major problem with it."

She slammed the statements onto the coffee table. "Sophia, you're going to clear up these accounts even if you're planning to clock out today!"

Chapter 4 Nothing Left to Owe

The statements scattered across the coffee table and onto the floor.

Bianca tapped one of them with the toe of her shoe. "Sophia, your monthly reimbursement budget for groceries is $20,000. However, I checked the market prices for the premium sea cucumbers and wild abalone you've been buying."

Her eyes were full of malice. "$20,000 wouldn't even cover a fraction of those ingredients. So, did you buy cheap knockoffs, pass them off as the real thing, and pocket the difference?"

The living room fell silent.

Audrey pressed a hand to her chest, her face draining of color. "No wonder my skin hasn't looked as good lately. So, you've been feeding me fake ingredients all this time?"

Frederick frowned as well. "Sophia, tell us the truth. Where did those medicinal ingredients really come from?"

I looked at the stack of statements and found the whole thing absurd.

$20,000? The premium ingredients the Shaws ate every day cost far more than $100,000.

I had covered every shortfall out of my own pocket for the past decade because Harrison had saved my grandmother's life all those years ago.

I had promised him I would keep the Shaw family prosperous and safe for 10 years, making sure they always had the very best food, clothing, and everything else they could ever want.

"Did you check with the supplier?" I asked calmly.

"Why would I? It doesn't make any sense to do so." Bianca looked smug.

"I've already blacklisted that supplier. All the household purchases will go through my group-buying links from today forward. We're buying everything through the cheapest channels from now on."

I nodded. "Sounds good. I hope you enjoy your meals."

Bianca thought she had caught me red-handed.

"So, you admit it! Since you've worked here for 10 years, we won't call the cops on you. But you'll pay back every dollar you stole. Also, if it isn't clear, you're fired. Pack up your things and leave today."

Arthur frowned. "Bianca, shouldn't we give her one more chance?"

Bianca immediately bristled in offense. "Arthur, are you actually feeling sorry for her? She stole money from our family!"

Audrey chimed in from the side, "Exactly. We took her in for ten years, only to end up with a thief in our own house. If we let her stay, who knows what trouble she'll cause next?"

I had originally planned to remind them about Astraea Tech's authorization before I left, for Harrison's sake if nothing else.

Now, it seemed unnecessary.

"Fine. I'll go." I turned and walked toward the housekeeper's room.

Bianca followed me like some sort of demented prison guard. "Move it. Stop dragging your feet. Everything in there belongs to the Shaw family. You're not taking a single thing with you."

I went into the room and pulled my suitcase out from under the bed.

I did not have much. All I'd brought with me were a few changes of clothes, some medical books, and the keepsakes my grandmother had left me.

Bianca pinched her nose in disgust. "These old books are covered in mold. Throw them out already. Stop polluting my air."

She kicked my suitcase onto its side, causing a flawless white diamond pendant to roll out.

Bianca's eyes lit up. She snatched it off the floor.

"This diamond looks pretty nice. The fake is surprisingly convincing. How could a housekeeper like you own something like this? You didn't steal it from Mrs. Shaw, did you?"

"Put it down." My voice turned ice-cold. "Ms. Vance, that's not something you're allowed to touch."

Bianca let out a scornful laugh. "A servant with sticky fingers is ordering me around now?"

She loosened her fingers. The diamond pendant slipped from her palm. It hit the floor with a sharp crack.

I stared at the shattered pendant as a loud ringing filled my ears.

My grandmother had placed that pendant around my neck with her own hands before she died. It was the only thing I had left of her.

I had protected that pendant for 10 whole years, keeping it flawless no matter how many nights I worked until I coughed up blood; no matter how often Audrey pointed at my face and cursed me. I had protected that pendant and never let it suffer so much as a scratch.

"Oh, this isn't my fault." Bianca rolled her eyes without the slightest remorse.

"You didn't put it away properly. Besides, it was probably some cheap fake from a street vendor. So what if it broke?"

Arthur heard the commotion and walked in. "What's going on?"

"She dropped some worthless rock herself, and now she's glaring at me." Bianca pouted as she wrapped herself around Arthur's arm.

"Arthur, the way she looked at me just now was terrifying. It was like she wanted to kill me."

Arthur's brows knitted together. "Sophia, it's just a pendant. I'll pay you whatever it's worth. Now, apologize to Bianca. Don't frighten her."

I bent down and gathered the broken pieces into my pocket. "She broke my belongings, and you want me to apologize to her?"

My gaze was cold.

"What else? You're just a servant. Are you trying to defy us?" Arthur said as though it were perfectly reasonable.

I slowly rose to my feet. My voice was quiet, but Arthur couldn't help but shiver at my tone. "There's no need to compensate me because neither of you can afford it."

I picked up my suitcase and walked out of the nightmare of a house I had lived in for 10 years without looking back.

'Old Mr. Shaw, we're square. The debt I owed you for saving my grandmother's life is cleared.'

I walked straight out through the gates of Shaw Estate. Then, I dialed a number I had not called in 10 years.

The phone rang only once before someone answered.

"Mr. Sterling."

An elderly voice filled with excitement came from the other end. "Ms. Quinn? You've finally decided to contact me?"