CHAPTER 4 — The Voice Hidden Behind the Door
Grace Parker regained consciousness just after sunrise.
The hospital room was quiet except for the steady rhythm of the heart monitor.
She opened her eyes...
...and nearly pulled out her IV when she saw Nathan Whitmore sitting beside the window.
"You..."
she whispered.
Nathan stood.
"Please don't."
"You need your strength."
Grace tried to sit upright.
"I'm sorry I missed work."
Nathan stared at her in disbelief.
"You almost died."
"And you're apologizing for missing work?"
Tears filled Grace's tired eyes.
"I've worked for your family eighteen years."
"I don't know how to do anything else."
Nathan slowly placed Emma's scholarship letter onto the bedside table.
"I know."
Grace immediately looked away.
Nathan noticed.
"You knew she gave it up."
Grace closed her eyes.
"I begged her not to."
"But she wouldn't listen."
Nathan remained silent.
Finally...
Grace whispered something so softly he almost missed it.
"She wasn't trying to save me."
Nathan frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Grace swallowed hard.
"She was trying to protect us."
Nathan's heartbeat slowed.
"Protect you from what?"
Grace stared at the hospital ceiling.
"Not what."
"Who."
Nathan's expression darkened.
Grace hesitated for several long seconds.
Then tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
"It started eight months ago."
Eight months earlier...
Emma had received her Georgetown acceptance letter.
The entire apartment celebrated with pizza and supermarket cupcakes.
Grace had cried for nearly an hour.
For the first time in years...
Hope had entered their home.
The next afternoon...
Grace mentioned the scholarship while serving lunch inside the Whitmore mansion.
Someone overheard.
That evening...
Emma received a phone call.
The caller never gave a name.
Only a message.
"If your mother wants to keep her job..."
"...decline any financial assistance."
Emma thought it was a prank.
Until another envelope appeared outside their apartment door.
Inside...
Were photographs.
Grace entering the Whitmore estate.
Grace leaving hospitals.
Grace cleaning offices after midnight.
Someone had been watching them.
The final note contained only one sentence.
People who forget their place usually lose everything.
Nathan's hands curled into fists.
"Who sent it?"
Grace shook her head.
"We never knew."
"But the next morning..."
"...someone from your family came."
Nathan's eyes narrowed.
"My family?"
Grace nodded slowly.
"They smiled."
"They said they only wanted what was best for everyone."
"They said accepting charity connected to your household would embarrass the Whitmore name."
Nathan's voice became almost inaudible.
"Who?"
Grace looked directly into his eyes.
"I was too frightened to tell you."
"But now..."
"I don't think staying silent is protecting anyone anymore."
Before she could say another word...
The hospital door opened.
A familiar voice echoed through the room.
"Nathan?"
Everyone turned.
Standing in the doorway...
Holding an expensive bouquet of white lilies...
Was Nathan's daughter-in-law.
Victoria Whitmore.
May you like
And the moment she saw the scholarship letter lying on the bedside table...
Her smile disappeared.
