Chapter 1 - The Woman on the Bed
My nanny was tied to the bed with my newborn twins strapped to her chest.
Her wrists were bleeding.
My wife had done it.
“What the hell is going on?”
The nursery door slammed against the wall. Both babies startled, and Emily lifted her head.
“Please, sir,” she whispered. “They just fell asleep.”
That stopped me harder than a scream would have.
She was hurt. Trapped. Terrified.
And she was worried about waking my children.
I dropped my briefcase and crossed the room. Torn strips of linen bound her wrists to the headboard. A baby carrier held both twins against her sweat-soaked uniform.
“Who did this?”
She looked toward the hallway.
“Emily.”
“Mrs. Cole.”
For a moment, I couldn’t make those words fit the woman I had married.
Then I saw Emily’s split lip.
I grabbed the nursery scissors from the drawer and called 911 on speaker.
“My children’s nanny has been assaulted and restrained. Two newborns are here. Send an ambulance and police.”
Emily started crying harder.
“My son,” she said. “Please. Someone has to check on my son.”
I cut the first strip carefully.
“What happened?”
The story came out in broken pieces.
The hospital had called that afternoon. Her six-year-old son, Noah, was getting worse. Emily had begged Victoria to let her leave.
My wife had been holding a glass of wine.
“Why should I be inconvenienced because you can’t keep a child alive?”
When Emily kept pleading, Victoria slapped her.
Twice.
Then she tied her to the bed and strapped the babies against her.
“You’ll stay right here,” she had said. “Even if you bleed for them.”
I supported Emily’s arm as the last strip fell away.
She couldn’t lower it without gasping.
“Don’t move,” I said. “Help is coming.”
I lifted our daughter, Sophie, into her crib, then our son, Owen. Their tiny faces were warm. Their breaths were steady.
Behind me, Emily whispered, “There’s something else.”
I turned.
“She took my phone. When the hospital called again, she answered.”
“What did she say?”
Emily’s eyes filled.
“She told them I didn’t want to come.”
A sharp click sounded in the hallway.
Then another.
Victoria appeared in the doorway wearing cream-colored heels and the diamond earrings I had given her for our anniversary.
She looked at the cut restraints.
May you like
Then at my phone.
“Hang up,” she said.
