Chapter 3 - WHAT HIS MOTHER LEFT BEHINDThe next morning, Emma began lying.
She lied to Lydia when asked whether Noah had told her anything.
She lied to Adrian when he noticed she looked exhausted.
She lied to security when she said she needed access to the grounds because Noah wanted to collect leaves.
Most importantly, she behaved as if she had seen nothing.
Because she still didn’t understand what she was looking at.
A household manager secretly administering medication to a four-year-old was disturbing.
Bruises made it worse.
But Noah’s mention of a key suggested something beyond cruelty.
Emma needed evidence.
And she needed to understand why nineteen nannies had become targets.
At 10:00, she took Noah outside.
Two security officers followed at a distance.
Noah raced between oak trees, suddenly looking like an ordinary little boy.
Emma waited until they reached the far side of the gardens.
“What key?”
He stared at the ground.
“The one Mommy gave me.”
“Before the accident?”
He nodded.
“Where is it?”
Noah hesitated.
“I hid it.”
“Where?”
“You’ll tell.”
“I won’t.”
“Everybody tells Grandma.”
Emma sat on the grass.
“I’m not everybody.”
Noah studied her for a long time.
Then he whispered, “Horse.”
The bronze horse.
Emma remembered the statue in the foyer—the one Noah had clung to when the previous nanny fled.
That afternoon, she found an excuse to pass through the foyer alone.
The horse sculpture stood nearly three feet tall on an ornate pedestal.
Emma ran her fingers beneath the base.
Nothing.
Behind one hoof, she felt tape.
Her heart jumped.
She peeled it away.
A tiny brass key dropped into her palm.
“Looking for something?”
Emma nearly screamed.
Adrian stood behind her.
She closed her fist.
“Noah lost a toy.”
“He loses everything.”
Emma forced a smile.
Adrian looked exhausted.
“Walk with me.”
They entered his library.
He poured himself coffee.
“My mother says you’re encouraging Noah’s behavior.”
“I’m listening to him.”
“She thinks that’s the same thing.”
“What do you think?”
Adrian stared into his cup.
“I think my son used to laugh.”
That sentence changed the room.
Adrian walked toward a photograph.
A young woman stood beside him holding a baby.
“She was named Isabelle.”
“Noah’s mother?”
“Yes.”
“She looks happy.”
“She was.”
His expression darkened.
“Until the final months.”
Emma waited.
Adrian continued.
“Isabelle became convinced someone was stealing from the family trusts.”
“Was someone?”
“I thought she was paranoid.”
Emma’s attention sharpened.
“She accused my mother.”
“Among others.”
“Lydia?”
Adrian looked up.
“Why would you ask that?”
Emma chose her words carefully.
“She runs the household. She’d have access.”
“Lydia handled personal accounts for my mother. Isabelle disliked her.”
“Why?”
“They fought constantly.”
“About Noah?”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“What exactly are you asking?”
Emma backed away.
“Nothing.”
But it wasn’t nothing.
That evening, Noah revealed more.
His mother had hidden “papers.”
Grandmother wanted them.
Lydia asked Noah about “the box.”
And after each nanny became close enough for Noah to speak, Lydia warned him they would be hurt.
So he attacked them first.
Emma finally understood.
Noah hadn’t been trying to drive the nannies away because he hated them.
He had been driving them away to protect them.
“Why didn’t you hurt me?” Emma asked.
Noah looked down.
“I tried.”
“When?”
“I threw the dinosaur yesterday.”
Emma remembered the plastic dinosaur that had landed six feet from her.
“You missed on purpose.”
He nodded.
“Why?”
“You looked sad.”
Emma almost laughed despite everything.
Instead, tears burned behind her eyes.
“You don’t have to protect me by making me leave.”
“Yes, I do.”
“No.”
“She hurts people.”
“Who?”
Noah became quiet.
“One lady found the door.”
“What door?”
“The little door.”
“Where?”
He pointed toward the east wing.
Emma remembered Adrian’s rule.
Never enter.
“Did Lydia hurt that nanny?”
Noah nodded.
“What was her name?”
“Anna.”
Emma had never heard of her.
“Did she quit?”
Noah looked confused.
“She disappeared.”
Emma’s heart slammed against her ribs.
At 11:00 that night, she searched the internet.
Nothing.
Then she searched employee records on an old tablet Noah used for games.
Most files were inaccessible.
But the household scheduling application still contained archived names.
Emma scrolled.
Wallace.
Chen.
Barker.
Mills.
Then:
ANNA REYES.
Employment ended eleven months earlier.
No resignation letter.
No forwarding information.
Emergency contact: Maria Reyes.
Emma photographed the screen.
Then she heard someone outside.
She shut off the tablet.
The door opened.
Eleanor Blackwood stepped inside.
No knock.
No warning.
“I understand Noah likes you.”
Emma forced herself to remain calm.
“I like him too.”
“That could become unfortunate.”
“How?”
Eleanor stepped closer.
“My grandson has suffered enough. People who encourage his fantasies damage him.”
“What fantasies?”
“That employees hurt him. That his mother hid secrets. That everyone is against him.”
Emma stared.
Interesting.
She had never mentioned those things.
“How do you know what he told me?”
Eleanor’s face remained perfectly still.
Emma looked toward the black camera dome.
Then back at her.
“You listen.”
“This is my home.”
“No. It’s Adrian’s.”
For the first time, Eleanor’s composure cracked.
“Be careful, young woman.”
She turned toward the door.
Emma said, “What happened to Anna Reyes?”
Eleanor stopped.
Silence.
Then she slowly looked back.
“Who?”
“Anna. One of Noah’s previous nannies.”
“I don’t remember every servant.”
“She disappeared.”
Eleanor smiled.
“People like Anna always disappear.”
Then she left.
Emma locked the door.
Five minutes later, her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A photograph loaded.
Emma standing in the garden with Noah earlier that afternoon.
Beneath it were seven words.
LEAVE TOMORROW AND YOU WILL BE PAID.
May you like
A second message appeared.
STAY, AND YOU’LL LEAVE LIKE ANNA DID.
Related Stories
