CHAPTER 2 "I Don't Need a Wife... My Children Need Someone They Can Trust."
Grace had expected handcuffs.
Instead, Nathan Vale opened the passenger door of a black Rolls-Royce.
"After you."
She hesitated.
Behind her, the grand estate glowed beneath the dawn sky.
Her father still stood near the ballroom entrance.
He didn't call her name.
He didn't apologize.
He simply stared at the envelope full of cash that someone had quietly taken back after Nathan intervened.
For the first time in her life, Grace understood a painful truth.
Her father hadn't lost his daughter.
He had lost a deal.
Nathan noticed where she was looking.
"Don't."
Grace blinked.
"What?"
"Don't wait for people to become the family they already chose not to be."
His words landed with the quiet force of a hammer.
She climbed into the car without another glance behind her.
The drive to Chicago was silent.
Rain traced slow lines across the windows while the city skyline gradually emerged through the morning mist.
Nathan never reached for his phone.
Never tried to make conversation.
Never looked at her in a way that made her uncomfortable.
It was strangely unsettling.
Grace finally broke the silence.
"You spent four million dollars."
Nathan kept his eyes on the road ahead.
"I did."
"Why?"
No answer.
"You don't even know me."
"I know enough."
Grace frowned.
"No... you don't."
Nathan looked at her for the first time.
"I know your father tried to exchange your future for his mistakes."
His voice remained calm.
"I know you had every reason to lie tonight, yet you answered honestly when I asked if you wanted to leave."
He paused.
"I also know that when powerful people watched another human being suffer..."
"...you were the only one who looked ashamed."
Grace stared.
"How could you possibly know that?"
"Because while everyone else was watching the stage..."
"...I was watching the audience."
An hour later the Rolls-Royce passed through iron gates nearly twice the size of the first estate.
A sprawling mansion overlooked Lake Michigan.
Security cameras tracked every movement.
Men in tailored suits greeted Nathan with respectful nods.
None of them smiled.
One hurried toward the car.
"Sir."
Nathan stepped out.
"Report."
"The twins skipped breakfast."
Nathan sighed.
"Again?"
"The youngest refuses to speak."
"And Olivia?"
The man hesitated.
"She locked herself in the music room."
Nathan rubbed his forehead.
"I'll handle it."
Grace listened quietly.
Children?
She suddenly remembered the whispers from the ballroom.
"The widowed boss with four children."
Nathan turned toward her.
"Come inside."
Grace stopped.
"I think there's been a misunderstanding."
"There hasn't."
"I can't stay here."
"You can."
"I'm a complete stranger."
"So are they."
Grace looked confused.
Nathan slowly exhaled.
"My children have dismissed seventeen nannies."
"They've driven away six tutors."
"They've refused every therapist."
"They've frightened away two fiancées."
Grace blinked.
"...Fiancées?"
Nathan almost smiled.
"My board believed I should remarry."
"And?"
"They stopped believing that."
For the first time since meeting him, Grace heard something almost resembling humor.
Almost.
The mansion felt surprisingly... alive.
Not warm.
Not cheerful.
But lived in.
Crayon drawings decorated one hallway.
A tiny pink rain boot sat abandoned near the staircase.
A toy dinosaur rested beneath a priceless painting.
Grace wasn't expecting any of it.
She had imagined cold marble and silence.
Instead...
She heard laughter.
Followed immediately by shouting.
Then glass breaking.
Nathan didn't even flinch.
"Normal morning."
Before Grace could respond, something small came flying around the corner.
A stuffed rabbit.
It bounced off Nathan's chest before landing at Grace's feet.
A little girl of about six ran after it.
She stopped abruptly when she saw Grace.
Large blue eyes.
Golden curls tied into messy pigtails.
She looked from Grace...
...to Nathan.
Then quietly asked,
"Is she leaving too?"
Nathan's expression changed instantly.
His voice softened.
"No, Emma."
The little girl's shoulders relaxed.
Barely.
Grace noticed it anyway.
Emma hugged the worn stuffed rabbit tightly.
"I liked Mrs. Jensen."
Nathan crouched beside her.
"I know."
"She cried."
"I know."
"Was it because of us?"
Nathan didn't answer.
Emma lowered her eyes.
"They always cry."
Grace felt her heart tighten.
Children remembered things adults wished they would forget.
A teenage boy appeared at the top of the staircase.
About sixteen.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes identical to Nathan's.
His expression was pure hostility.
"You brought another one."
Nathan stood.
"Good morning, Lucas."
"I asked you a question."
Nathan remained calm.
"Her name is Grace."
Lucas laughed bitterly.
"I don't care."
He looked directly at Grace.
"You'll leave in a week."
Then he walked away.
Grace watched him disappear upstairs.
"He hates me already."
Nathan shook his head.
"No."
"What then?"
"He hates hope."
Later that afternoon, Nathan led Grace into a sunlit library overlooking the lake.
He poured two cups of tea.
Neither spoke for a long moment.
Finally Grace broke the silence.
"You still haven't answered me."
Nathan looked up.
"About what?"
"Why me?"
He set down his cup.
"Three months ago..."
"...my youngest daughter stopped speaking after someone she trusted betrayed her."
Grace listened quietly.
"My oldest son believes every woman enters this house for money."
"My twins think everyone eventually leaves."
He folded his hands.
"They don't need another employee."
"They need someone who understands what it feels like to lose a family..."
"...while the people you love are still alive."
Grace's eyes filled.
"You think that's me?"
"I know it is."
She looked away.
"I'm not strong."
Nathan answered immediately.
"No."
Grace looked surprised.
"Strength isn't what I saw."
"What then?"
He met her eyes.
"Kindness."
The room fell silent.
Nobody had ever chosen Grace because she was kind.
Only because she was useful.
Or not.
Nathan stood.
"I'll have a guest room prepared."
Grace frowned.
"A guest room?"
"You'll stay as long as you wish."
"And after that?"
"The decision will always be yours."
She searched his face.
"There are no conditions?"
"Only one."
Grace waited.
"If you ever choose to leave..."
"...don't disappear without saying goodbye to the children."
Before she could answer, alarms suddenly erupted throughout the mansion.
Red emergency lights flashed across the hallway.
A security guard burst into the library.
"Mr. Vale!"
Nathan was already on his feet.
"What happened?"
The guard's face had turned pale.
"They found a bomb..."
"...inside Miss Emma's music box."
Grace's blood ran cold.
Nathan didn't.
His expression became terrifyingly still.
Only four words escaped his lips.
"Lock down the entire estate."
Outside, hidden beyond the iron gates, a black SUV quietly drove away.
Inside it, a man made a single phone call.
"She survived."
A woman's cold voice answered from the other end.
"I expected she would."
The man swallowed.
"What are your orders now?"
The reply came without hesitation.
May you like
"If Nathan Vale insists on protecting Grace Holloway..."
"...then we'll bury them together."
