Chapter 6

It was late. I lay in bed, pretending to be asleep.

Once David's breathing turned slow and steady, I quietly took his phone and used his finger to unlock it.

My heart was in my throat.

I checked his messages, contacts, and call logs.

I searched through everything for ages, but didn't find a single suspicious contact.

He was really cautious.

Just as I was about to give up, I came across a message in the deleted folder.

It was sent three days ago to an unsaved number.

The message was short: [She's starting to get suspicious. Be careful.]

The message hit me like a punch to the chest.

David was in it.

He was the sender, and the recipient was obvious.

David and our nanny were teaming up.

The man I'd loved for ten years, the father of my children, had been conspiring with another woman to deceive me and plot against me.

The world was spinning out of control. My stomach was twisting itself into knots.

I dashed into the bathroom, dropped to my knees in front of the toilet, and retched so hard that I thought I'd pass out. Nothing came up but just a mouthful of sour bile.

I stared at the ghostly, worn-out face in the mirror, my eyes bloodshot and wild. It felt like I was looking at a stranger.

This wasn't my home anymore.

It was a prison, carefully crafted just for me.

David was the warden, and Haley was the snake lurking in the dark.

And my daughter, Anna, was the pawn they used to threaten me.

I couldn't just sit here and wait for my doom.

I had to take Anna and get out of here right away.

That thought gave me a jolt of energy.

I went back to the bedroom and looked at David, who was fast asleep.

That handsome face of his now made my skin crawl.

I fought the urge to strangle him and started plotting my escape.

I couldn't let them suspect a thing.

I had to pretend I didn't know anything.

*****

The next day, I pretended everything was normal.

I smiled at David, asking if he was tired from work.

I was polite to Haley, as if nothing had changed.

It was like last night's investigation and revelations had never happened.

They seemed to relax around me, too.

David wasn't cold to me anymore.

Haley went about her chores in silence, like always.

But I knew that there was something dangerous lurked beneath the surface, ready to swallow me whole.

Without raising suspicion, I gradually took over all of Anna's care from Haley.

I made sure to dress and feed Anna myself.

Every night, I made sure I was the one telling her bedtime stories and putting her to bed.

Anna couldn't get used to it.

Several times, she threw tantrums, crying for Grace. "Mom, why won't you let Grace be with me anymore? Does Grace not like me now?"

Every time she said that, it was like someone was carving up my heart with a knife.

Haley stood nearby, wearing her mask, quietly watching me and Anna.

Her eyes were calm, but I could feel a silent, mocking look behind them.

It was as if she was saying, "See? You can't even manage your own daughter."

The constant tension was exhausting, but I couldn't let myself quit.

I started quietly getting ready.

I packed all the most important documents for Anna and me into my bag.

I took the family's valuable jewelry out bit by bit and stashed every piece in a bank safe deposit box.

I also reached out to my best friend who lived in another city, telling her I might bring Anna to stay with her for a while.

She was worried and asked what was going on.

I couldn't tell her the truth.

I didn't want to drag her into this mess.

So I just said David and I had a fight, and I wanted to clear my head for a bit.

Everything was happening quietly, under the radar.

I needed an opportunity—a moment to slip away with Anna, without anyone suspecting a thing.

I had to figure out where Grace's identity came from.

It had to be a fake.

If I could find proof showing that her background was phony, I could call the cops.

I remembered we'd hired her through a high-end household staffing agency called HomeEase Agency.

David took care of all the arrangements.

I made up an excuse about organizing the files in the study and went through every cabinet in David's study, turning each one inside out.

Finally, at the bottom of a folder, I found the HomeEase Agency contract.

It had the HomeEase Agency's official stamp and contact number.

I used a burner phone to call the number.

My heart was pounding in my chest.

After a few rings, someone picked up.

A cheerful voice answered, "Hello, this is HomeEase Agency. How can I help you?"

"Hi, I'd like to ask about one of your employees," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"We keep all client and employee information confidential," she replied, her tone perfectly professional.

"I'm not asking for anything private. I just want to confirm something."

I gave her our address and David's name. "I just want to check if you still have the information on file for the nanny named Grace Ward that your company assigned to our home."

I heard the sound of someone typing on a keyboard on the other end.

After a moment, the woman's voice came back, sounding a bit confused. "Hello, ma'am. I've checked all our records.

"We have no employee by that name.

"I also don't see any record of service at that address.

"Is it possible you might be mistaken?"