Chapter 1 - GET AWAY FROM MY SON “DON’T TOUCH HIM!”
Julian Sterling’s voice exploded through the marble foyer.
Eleanor stopped so suddenly that the heel of her shoe skidded across the polished floor.
Six feet away, Maria Alvarez—the new live-in nanny Julian had hired barely three weeks earlier—was crouched beside the sweeping staircase.
Blood streaked Maria’s cheek.
In her arms, six-month-old Leo screamed.
And Eleanor knew immediately how the scene looked.
“Julian, listen to me.”
“Stay where you are.”
His words were colder than the December rain hammering the mansion windows.
Eleanor stared at the man she had loved for seven years.
She barely recognized him.
Maria clutched Leo tighter.
“She attacked me, Mr. Sterling.”
Eleanor’s face drained of color.
“What?”
“She said she couldn’t take it anymore.”
“That’s a lie.”
Maria began crying.
“She said Leo destroyed her marriage.”
“Stop lying!”
Eleanor stepped forward.
Julian moved between her and their son.
That movement broke something inside her.
Three months earlier, somebody had loosened the locking mechanism on Leo’s car seat.
Two weeks ago, Julian had received an anonymous photograph of Leo sleeping.
Written across it were five words:
HEIRS DON’T ALWAYS GROW UP.
Since then, Julian had stopped sleeping properly.
He doubled security.
Changed drivers.
Installed biometric locks.
He saw enemies everywhere.
Now he saw Maria bleeding.
Leo screaming.
And Eleanor standing nearby with fury in her eyes.
Fear completed the story before truth had a chance.
“Leave.”
Eleanor stared at him.
“What did you say?”
“Get out of this house.”
“Julian, she was hurting Leo.”
Maria gasped dramatically.
Julian’s jaw tightened.
“That’s enough.”
“No. It isn’t.”
Eleanor pointed toward Maria.
“I walked in and saw her pinching his leg. Leo screamed. When I tried taking him, she scratched her own face.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
Eleanor went still.
Not because of the accusation.
Because of the disbelief.
“You know me.”
“I thought I did.”
Those four words hurt more than anything Maria could have done.
Security guards appeared.
Eleanor looked toward Leo.
Her son’s tiny fingers were curled around Maria’s blouse.
“Julian, look at me.”
He did.
“If you send me outside tonight, you are not protecting our son.”
Her voice trembled.
“You are leaving him alone with the person who wants him dead.”
Maria lowered her eyes.
Julian said nothing.
Eleanor slowly removed her wedding ring.
She placed it on the marble table.
Then she whispered:
“When you finally understand what you’ve done, pray you still have a son to apologize to.”
She walked into the storm.
The enormous front doors closed behind her.
Julian stared at the ring.
For the first time, uncertainty moved across his face.
Upstairs, Leo continued crying.
Maria carried him toward the nursery.
At the top of the staircase, she stopped.
She looked down at Julian.
May you like
Then, where he could not see her face—
she smiled.
Related Stories
