Chapter 4 - The Nanny’s SecretThe caller hung up.
I stood there in the quiet nursery, my chest heaving. Was Michael a monster who had butchered my family, or was this a sick mind game played by his rivals? I looked down at tiny Mia sleeping peacefully. She was innocent in all of this. But I needed the truth.
Unlocking the nursery door, I tiptoed into the dark hallway. The mansion was eerily quiet, save for distant shouting coming from the eastern wing. The guards were occupied.
I slipped down the grand spiral staircase and crept into Michael's private study. The room smelled of expensive tobacco, leather, and cedar.
I rushed behind the massive oak desk and pulled at the bottom drawer. Locked.
Panicking, I grabbed a heavy brass letter opener from the desk and jammed it into the lock, leverage pressing against metal until—CRACK—the lock gave way.
Inside lay a single red folder marked PROJECT PHOENIX.
I pulled it out and flipped it open with trembling fingers. Inside were crime scene photos of my husband’s demolished sedan... along with autopsy reports of my twin boys. Attached to the back was a transfer receipt of $2,000,000 signed by Michael Volkov, dated the day of the crash.
My breath seized. It was true. He had paid to destroy my entire world.
"Looking for something, Emily?" a cold voice spoke from the shadows.
I whipped around. Standing near the bookshelf was a woman in a slick leather jacket, holding a silenced handgun pointed directly at my heart.
It wasn't a guard.
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"Who are you?" I gasped, dropping the folder.
"I’m Elena," the woman smiled viciously. "Mia's mother. And Michael Volkov’s biggest mistake."
