Chapter 1 - The Locked Door
The silence in the opulent bedroom was heavy enough to crush my chest.
Garrett Corbin kept his intense gaze fixed on my face as he slowly wiggled his toes again.
I had been hired to care for a paralyzed man, but the man sitting before me was already healing.
My mind raced back to my own life, to the betrayal of my ex-husband and the cruelty of my mother-in-law.
I knew exactly what it felt like to be surrounded by people who wanted to see you fail.
I took a step away from the locked door and approached his wheelchair.
Garrett explained that his accident eight months ago was supposedly caused by a brake failure in his luxury car.
He survived by a miracle, but the doctors told his family he would likely never walk again.
However, a month ago, the feeling in his legs began to return in small, painful waves.
He kept it a secret because he noticed how quickly his brother Douglas had taken control of his company.
His sister-in-law Gertrude had also systematically fired all of Garrett’s loyal staff, replacing them with strangers.
Garrett needed someone from the outside, someone with no ties to his wealthy family, to help him recover completely.
He offered to double my already massive salary if I became his secret physical therapist and informant.
I agreed immediately, knowing I had nothing left to lose in this world.
I spent the next hour helping him do covert leg exercises on the bed, amazed by his sheer determination.
When we finished, I carefully arranged his blankets to make it look like his legs were completely dead.
I unlocked the bedroom door just as Gertrude walked past in the hallway.
She stopped and glared at me with cold, calculating eyes.
She asked why the door had been locked while I was bathing her brother-in-law.
I lied smoothly, claiming I was respecting his privacy while changing his medical garments.
Gertrude smiled, but it was a smile that did not reach her eyes.
She walked into the room, leaned over Garrett, and patted his lifeless-looking legs.
She whispered to him that he never had to worry about the company again because Douglas was handling everything permanently.
After she left the room, I went to turn off the small bedside lamp.
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That was when I saw a tiny red light blinking from inside the smoke detector directly above Garrett’s bed.
Someone in this house was watching his every move through a hidden camera.
