Chapter 1

I had spent eight years at LunaCare Center as its top baby nurse and chief postpartum specialist. I was the only one who knew the exact meal plan that kept an award-winning actress's postpartum depression in check and the allergy triggers of a tycoon's newborn.

And today, with my mother needing emergency surgery, I'd asked for merely three hours off to go sign the consent forms at the hospital.

But the boss's airheaded daughter, freshly parachuted into the job, slapped a termination notice in my face. "You make over ten thousand a month simply to babysit. Think you're somebody? If you don't want to work, get out."

I laughed out of sheer anger, untied my apron, signed, and walked out. The moment I stepped outside, I accepted Harmony International's offer: an annual salary of one hundred and twelve thousand dollars and a technical partner role.

By nine that night, her calls were blowing up my phone. The Foster family's Little Heir was crying himself hoarse without one bowl of my special calming tonic, and Margaret Sinclair was threatening to sue LunaCare Center into bankruptcy.

"Claire Summers, why are you still standing there? Margaret's Little Heir is about to wake up. Hurry up and prep his food." The shrill, cutting voice shattered the VIP wing's quiet.

I gripped my phone so hard my knuckles turned white. On the screen was a photo of the critical condition notice the hospital had sent me. My mother had suffered a sudden heart attack and needed immediate surgery.

I looked up at the woman in front of me: Lucy White, the boss's daughter, dressed in a designer suit and flawless makeup. She had lately returned from studying so-called modern business management overseas and looked down on people in traditional service work.

"Ms. White," I said, forcing down my panic, "my mother is at the hospital and they're trying to save her. I have to go right now. I need three hours off."

"Time off?" Lucy looked like she'd heard the funniest joke in the world. She clicked over in her three-inch heels, the heavy perfume almost choking me.

"Claire, know your place. You make over ten thousand a month. Do you think you're here on vacation? You're supposed to be on call around the clock." She snapped.

She leaned in and jabbed her red-painted nail against my chest again and again.

"Your mom's in the ER. What does that have to do with me or the Little Heir? If he misses even one feeding and starts crying, could you afford to take the blame?" She demanded.

My heart sank. In eight years at LunaCare Center, I had climbed from ordinary maternity nurse to chief recovery specialist. Every client I handled was either rich, famous, or both, and I knew each mother's condition and every newborn's habits by heart.

I was the pillar holding this place steady. But in Lucy's eyes, I was nothing more than an overpaid nanny who could be replaced anytime.

"Ms. White, it's only three hours. I'll be back as soon as I sign the papers." My voice had already taken on a pleading edge.

"Three hours?" Lucy sneered, grabbed a file from the desk, and smacked it across my face. The paper edge scraped my cheek, leaving a hot sting behind.

"Listen closely: LunaCare is undergoing modern reforms, and the first people getting cut are old employees like you, people with no discipline who start throwing their weight around because they've got a little experience. This is your termination notice. Get out. Now." She snapped.

I stared at the paper on the floor. The words Notice of Termination burned my eyes. Rage and humiliation surged through me. I bent down, picked it up, and signed my name without even reading it.

"Fine." I untied the custom apron at my waist, the mark of the chief specialist-and tossed it onto the couch. Then I ripped off my name badge and laid it on top of the termination notice."Ms. White, good luck with your reforms."

I turned and walked away without the slightest regret.

As I passed the nurses' station, the nurse I knew well, Jenny Jackson, grabbed me, panic written all over her face. "Claire, are you really leaving? What about Margaret's Little Heir? He only listens to you. He won't take anything except your calming tonic."

I didn't stop walking. I only said flatly, "That's Ms. White's problem now."

I pushed open LunaCare Center's heavy glass doors, and the sunlight outside was blinding. My phone buzzed. It was an unknown number. I answered, and a gentle, polished male voice came through the line."Is this Ms. Summers? I'm in charge at Harmony International.

"We've had our eye on you for a long time. We heard you left today. Would you consider our offer? 270 thousand dollars a year, plus a technical partner role."

Harmony International was a rising powerhouse in our field and LunaCare's biggest rival.

I took a deep breath and buried my emotions. "All right. I accept." I needed money for my mother's surgery and recovery, and I had no time left to wrestle with my pride.

After hanging up, I rushed straight to the hospital.

At nine that night, I stood outside my mother's ICU room while my phone vibrated like crazy in my pocket. When I took it out, I saw dozens of missed calls, all from Lucy.

Then the texts started pouring in.[Claire, where did you go? Get back here now.

[The Little Heir wouldn't stop crying or drink his milk. What did you feed him?

[I'm ordering you to come back to work right now.

[I'll give you a raise. Twenty thousand a month. Is that enough?

[Claire, I'm begging you. Come back. Margaret is going to sue us, and the Fosters will bankrupt us.]

I read the messages without expression, my heart cold as ice.

When the last call came in, I finally answered it.

On the other end, Lucy was nearly hysterical, her voice thick with tears. "Claire, where are you? Tell me the recipe for that calming tonic. I'll pay you. Name your price."

Listening to her desperate voice, I leaned calmly against the hospital's cold wall.

"Ms. White, weren't you the one who wanted modern management? Didn't you say all my methods were unscientific folk remedies? Then go ask your data and your KPIs if they can stop that heir to a billion dollar fortune from crying." I said.

After that, I hung up and blocked her number.

The world went quiet in an instant.