Chapter 2 - THE MISSING NANNY
Vanessa recovered quickly.
“Rose quit.”
The child-protection investigator opened her notebook.
“When?”
“Two weeks ago.”
“Why was her car left behind?”
“She could not afford the repairs.”
I knew Rose Martinez.
She had cared for Emma, Lily, Sophie, and Grace since they were infants.
She would never abandon her car without explaining it.
More importantly, she would never leave the girls without saying goodbye.
“Where is Hannah?” I asked.
Hannah Doyle had been hired as the second nanny shortly after I married Vanessa.
Vanessa shrugged.
“She went to Denver.”
“Her phone has been disconnected.”
“That is not my responsibility.”
One of the officers stepped forward.
“It may become your responsibility if you are withholding information about a missing person.”
Vanessa folded her arms.
“I want my attorney.”
“You should call him.”
My own attorney, Sarah Mitchell, placed a folder on the dining table.
“These are temporary protective orders.”
Vanessa stared at the pages.
“You cannot remove me from my own home.”
“The house belongs to the Caldwell Family Trust.”
Sarah’s voice remained calm.
“You have no ownership interest.”
Vanessa looked at me.
“You promised this would be our home.”
“It was.”
“Until I found my daughters freezing inside it.”
The officers escorted her upstairs to collect essential belongings.
She was not permitted to enter my office or the children’s rooms.
While they watched her pack, I returned to the dark family dining room.
My daughters were still sitting together.
Emma had wrapped one thin curtain around Grace’s shoulders.
Lily was dividing the moldy bread into smaller pieces.
Sophie remained beneath the table.
I knelt slowly.
“No one is throwing the food away until we bring you something better.”
Emma watched me carefully.
“Promise?”
“I promise.”
I ordered the kitchen staff to prepare soup, oatmeal, toast, and warm milk.
The chef looked horrified when he saw the girls.
“I was told they ate in the nursery.”
The household staff had been separated into different wings.
Vanessa informed the kitchen that the girls were receiving meals from the nannies.
She told the cleaning staff that the children were sick and should not be disturbed.
She told security that I had approved strict isolation after one of the girls developed a contagious illness.
Every department received a different lie.
No one compared them.
The system I designed to protect my family had become a wall of silence around them.
The child-protection investigator photographed the room.
She collected the moldy bread.
A pediatric emergency team arrived.
The doctors found dehydration, weight loss, bruising, and early signs of hypothermia.
Grace had an untreated infection.
Lily had a healing burn across two fingers.
Emma had marks around one wrist.
Sophie refused to let anyone approach her unless I remained beside her.
“Who hurt your wrist?” I asked Emma.
She looked toward the hallway.
“Mama Vanessa said I was stealing.”
“What did she think you stole?”
“Crackers.”
My vision blurred.
I turned away before my daughters saw the rage on my face.
When I looked back, Lily was studying the memory card in my hand.
“Is that from the little red light?”
I nodded.
“Did you know about the camera?”
She pointed toward the ceiling.
“Miss Rose said the house was still watching.”
My heart began pounding.
“When did she say that?”
“The night Mama Vanessa took her downstairs.”
“Where downstairs?”
Lily looked at Emma.
Emma whispered the answer.
“Behind the wine wall.”
The mansion had a climate-controlled cellar beneath the ballroom.
One wall contained more than two thousand bottles.
Behind that wall was an unfinished storage corridor.
I had never told Vanessa it existed.
Someone else had.
May you like
I gathered my security team.
As we approached the cellar, we found dried blood on the stone stairs.
