Michael checked his watch and closed his laptop, putting his commissioned art on hold for his impending guest. The messy hotel room didn’t concern him; he prioritized a shower and donned a casual outfit. A knock on the door signaled his guest’s arrival—Lucy, the maid.

If only Michael knew Lucy’s reality, he would’ve never slept with her. His lust had blinded him. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately, and then, he closed the door behind them.

Lucy hated Michael’s touch, but right now, she was only focused on her revenge. She knew she wouldn’t get a better chance to get back at the couple for what they’d done to her.

“I’ve been waiting so long for Friday when you’d finally come back to me,” he said, pulling her onto the bed.

“I’ve been waiting too, my darling. I wish we could do this every day,” Lucy replied, despite her disgust.

Suddenly, a loud knock on the door interrupted them.

“Did you order anything?”

“No,” Lucy shook her head.

Michael answered the door and went pale. His wife, Mary, had unexpectedly returned from a business presentation. “Surprise!” she yelled.

“Mary, my beloved wife!”

Panicking, he feigned innocence, attempting to block Mary from entering the bedroom where Lucy was hiding. But Mary didn’t buy his story.

“Enough lying. Where is she?” Mary snapped, pushing past him. She knew cheating was not something new for him.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about!” Michael said casually. But ignoring him, Mary approached the en suite bathroom. Fear gripped Michael; he knew he had seconds to divert her attention.

“Honey, please tell me what’s going on. We should go down to the hotel restaurant…”

Mary flung open the bathroom door, revealing an empty room. The bed’s disarray hinted at Michael’s secret rendezvous, but Lucy was nowhere to be seen.

“See, there’s no one here, honey. You’re just winding yourself up. The pressure at work has made you distrustful.”

Mary sighed, and Michael noticed the tension in her body was gone. She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“If you love only me, prove it,” she challenged.

Michael pushed her onto the bed, whispering naughtily. Mary laughed, but their moment was interrupted by a ringing phone under the bed.

“Whose phone is that?” Mary asked, pushing his shoulders.

“Oh, uh…it’s mine,” Michael replied.

Desperate, Michael reached under the bed, where the phone had fallen when he and Lucy were busy earlier. Thankfully, Lucy handed him the phone from under the bed.

“You see? I just changed the ringtone,” Michael said. “That way, I can tell when I’m getting a work call or when my beloved Mary is phoning me.”

Mary sat up, her entire mood ruined. Sensing she was doubting him again, Michael quickly showed her a sticker on his phone. “Remember, you got it for me at a charity fair? I changed the ringtone, but my love for you hasn’t changed.”

“It’s just strange. I swear I could smell a woman’s perfume…” Mary sighed.

Michael put his arm around Mary, and she rested her head on his shoulder. “There’s nobody here, and there never was. It’s probably just the automatic air freshener,” he said.

Mary glanced up at the little device attached to the wall near the entrance to the bedroom. “Maybe you’re right,” she nodded.

Michael tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You just need to get some fresh air, okay? Then, once you feel a bit better, we’ll have lunch, and then…” he smiled suggestively, “maybe I can ‘convince’ you how much I love you later.”

“Okay.” Mary smiled a little and kissed his cheek. “I’ll go take a stroll around the pool. I’ll be right back.”

Michael sighed in relief as Mary left. “That was close!” Lucy exclaimed, sliding out from beneath the bed.

Early that evening, Lucy pushed her cleaning cart down a hotel corridor, satisfied with her successful plan against Michael. Suddenly, a voice startled her.

“Hey.” Mary appeared from the corner.

“Hi,” Lucy nervously replied.

“How do you like my husband?” Mary asked, and Lucy went pale. Had Mary suspected something? No, it shouldn’t happen because my plan will fail!

“Er…what do you mean?”

“I mean, do you like him?” Mary’s eyes sparkled with icy rage.

“No! I mean, yes…er, no. I meant to say no,” Lucy stumbled. “Look, he’s just an ordinary guest,” she insisted, regaining her composure. “No personal relationships are allowed. That could get me fired.”

Mary smirked. “Oh! I’m just kidding!”

Relieved, Lucy smiled. But Mary pressed on, “Did you see my husband with a guest today or last Friday?”

“I didn’t see anyone, ma’am,” Lucy replied.

“I need to see the hallway security footage.”

“I’m sorry, but hotel policy prohibits that,” Lucy declined.

“There’s a nice tip in it for you.”

“No, I can’t,” Lucy insisted.

“Well, in that case, I guess I’ll just have to speak to the security guard myself,” Mary said. “I’ll just tell them that I… lost my wallet. I’m sure they will be happy to provide me with this high level of service.”

Lucy panicked. She’d be even more trouble if the hotel’s security staff caught her on camera with Michael. “D-Don’t do that. The guard..won’t be able to help you. I’ll help you,” she jumped to offer.

Lucy made it to the surveillance room with the help of one of her old colleagues. She sat before the console while Mary directed, “Turn the footage back to around 11 this morning.”

“Okay,” Lucy hesitated.

With trembling fingers, she adjusted the security footage to show her pushing the cleaning cart down the hallway. “Nothing special here,” she said.

“So I see,” Mary replied, scrutinizing the black-and-white video. “Let’s watch further.”

As they watched, Lucy dusted a painting in the hallway, time ticking on the timestamp.

Lucy seized the opportunity to text Michael for backup, and Mary’s phone rang just in time.

“Yeah, honey?” she answered, stepping aside.

On-screen, Lucy returned to Michael’s door, smoothing her uniform. Michael, seizing the moment, stepped out, kissing her passionately.

Mary, preoccupied with her call, didn’t notice the heated kiss on the screen. Lucy’s heart raced when Mary began searching her purse for keys.

Mary found the keys, and her gaze returned to the scene just as Lucy playfully pushed Michael back into his room.

“I went into the room across the hallway to clean it. And there you are,” she added seconds later, pointing to Mary’s arrival at the room.

Mary sighed, apologizing for her suspicion. She headed for the door but froze when Lucy’s phone rang.

“One more thing,” Mary said, glaring at Lucy. “Call someone to carry my luggage. I have to leave for a business trip.”

Lucy complied, and then, as Mary left, she heaved a sigh of relief. It was time for the second part of her plan.

Back in the hotel room, Michael’s heart raced as his phone buzzed on the nightstand. The screen displayed an unfamiliar number, yet he knew exactly who it was. The blackmailer. He took a deep breath and reluctantly answered.

“Hello?” Michael’s voice wavered.

“Michael, my friend. Ready for our final transaction?”

Michael glanced nervously around the room. “Yes, yes. I’ve got the money.”

The blackmailer’s tone turned sinister. “Good. You know the drill. This is the last one, Michael. Make it count.”

Michael clenched his jaw, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “I’ve kept up my end of the deal. After this, you leave me alone, right?”

The voice on the other end grinned, audible through the phone. “If the money’s in the right account, you won’t hear from me again.”

With a sigh, Michael assured, “You’ll get it. Just give me a moment.”

Ending the call, Michael’s hands trembled as he logged into Mary’s bank account. He had been siphoning money from her for months, claiming it was for his expenses for his artwork. He justified it as the only way to keep the blackmailer at bay. This time, he needed another $50,000.

“Mary won’t notice,” he mumbled to himself.

He initiated the transfer, and just as he was about to hang up, the phone buzzed again. The blackmailer called back. Michael just hated the robotic voice of the blackmailer; they were clearly using a voice modulation app.

“What’s taking so long, Michael?”

“I’m doing it now. You’ll get your money,” Michael snapped.

The blackmailer chuckled ominously. “Remember, this is the last time. If you fail, evidence of your affair will be in your wife’s hands.”

“I know,” Michael replied, his voice strained. “Once this is done, we’re done.”

As Michael clicked the final button to complete the transfer, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this dark secret would inevitably catch up with him. Once done, he stared at the $0 glaring back at him from the screen. Little did he know that it was far from over. The web of lies he’d spun was closing in faster than he could imagine.

***

Michael returned to his room after a few drinks. Spotting Lucy cleaning near the bed, he couldn’t resist making a move.

“Oh, babe, now that my wife’s gone, we have this place all to ourselves,” he exclaimed, reaching for Lucy’s hip.

A knock interrupted.

“Not now!” he groaned.

“As I was saying,” he leaned closer to Lucy, “we have the whole night.”

But the knocks continued.

After another knock, Michael opened the door, expecting to dismiss the person on the other side of the door.

To his shock, Lucy was also at the door.

“Lucy? Then who’s in my room?”

He turned around, facing Mary, wearing the same uniform. Panic set in.

Mary arched her eyebrows. “Hello, husband!”

“Mary! You look amazing,” Michael stammered.

“You’re busted, Michael. I know she was under the bed this morning!” Mary barked at him.

Michael pleaded. “This is just a game, honey. It’s not serious.”

“Game over, you sick creep! I want you out of here and out of my life in an hour!” Mary spat.

In the midst of the confrontation, Michael knelt, begging forgiveness.

But Mary now turned her attention to Lucy. “Time for someone to get fired!” she sneered.

Despite the threat, Lucy smiled, and then she laughed. “Ah, I don’t really care. Because now, my sister Samantha finally got justice. Sometimes life comes full circle,” she said cryptically.

Michael and Mary exchanged confused glances as Lucy left. Slowly, the realization dawned on them. Samantha, their ex-maid, was Lucy’s sister. They lived in poverty, surviving on meager earnings from Lucy’s off jobs and Samantha’s underpaid job as the couple’s maid.

That’s until Samantha had been pregnant and abandoned by her husband. One of those days, in a misunderstanding, Mary had caught Michael and Samantha hugging in their bedroom, immediately assuming an affair.

Michael could have cleared Samantha’s name, but instead, he chose to falsely accuse Samantha of making unwanted advances towards him and dismissed the helpless woman. He did it so he could cover up his real affair with another woman. And Mary didn’t listen to Samantha, either.

Unable to find another job, Samantha couldn’t afford treatment when her health started failing her and eventually lost her child. She couldn’t bear losing her baby and eventually, she ended her own life. Lucy didn’t know how much her sister had been through until, one day, she received Samantha’s final letter.

Micheal realized Lucy was the blackmailer. But there was nothing he could do. He had lost everything and was helpless.

Meanwhile, Lucy, holding no grudge, walked out of the hotel, relieved she didn’t fail her sister. “I got your revenge, Sammy,” she whispered, looking at the skies. She decided to donate the ill-gotten cash to a charity for orphaned children.