Chapter 4 - THE EIGHTEEN NANNIES
Dominic wanted Mrs. Hargrove brought upstairs immediately.
Clara stopped him.
“No.”
He stared at her.
“You're telling me no?”
“Yes.”
Nobody in the room seemed prepared for that.
Clara pointed toward Noah.
“If she comes in here, he shuts down.”
Dominic looked at his son.
The anger left his face.
“What do you suggest?”
“Talk to her somewhere he can't hear.”
Dominic nodded.
“Marcus.”
They moved Mrs. Hargrove to the library.
Dominic sat opposite her.
Marcus remained beside the door.
Clara stayed because Dominic asked her to.
Mrs. Hargrove looked offended by her presence.
“She is a maid.”
Dominic placed the photograph on the table.
“Today she's the reason my son spoke.”
Mrs. Hargrove's expression tightened.
Dominic added the syringe.
“And you're the reason we're having this conversation.”
“That isn't mine.”
“It was in your room.”
“Then it was planted.”
“By whom?”
She smiled bitterly.
“If I knew, I wouldn't be sitting here.”
Dominic leaned forward.
“Tell me about Mercer.”
“He treated Noah.”
“I know that.”
“You don't know everything.”
“Then start talking.”
Mrs. Hargrove looked toward Clara.
Dominic understood.
“She stays.”
Mrs. Hargrove exhaled.
“After Elena died, Dr. Mercer told us Noah had severe post-traumatic stress.”
“He recommended isolation during violent episodes.”
“The north room?”
“Yes.”
Dominic's hands curled into fists.
“And you allowed it?”
“You were barely functioning.”
Dominic's face hardened.
“That doesn't excuse you.”
“No.”
For the first time, guilt appeared in her expression.
“It doesn't.”
Clara studied her.
“Why was Noah afraid of your brooch?”
Mrs. Hargrove touched the empty place on her collar.
“I don't know.”
“That's a lie.”
Mrs. Hargrove looked at her sharply.
Clara continued.
“He saw it and panicked.”
Mrs. Hargrove looked down.
Then she whispered.
“Mercer used a metronome.”
Dominic frowned.
“What?”
“A clicking sound during treatment.”
“He claimed repetition helped Noah focus.”
Clara understood.
“The brooch camera clicks.”
Mrs. Hargrove nodded.
“Very softly.”
Dominic stared at her.
“So he associated that sound with Mercer.”
“Perhaps.”
Clara wasn't convinced.
“What about the eighteen nannies?”
Mrs. Hargrove's expression changed.
Dominic noticed.
“What about them?”
Clara remembered the woman fleeing.
“Why did they all fail?”
“Noah is difficult.”
“Stop calling him difficult.”
Clara's voice sharpened.
“Did any of them notice the north wing?”
Mrs. Hargrove remained silent.
Dominic stood.
“Answer her.”
“Three.”
“Names.”
Mrs. Hargrove swallowed.
“Rebecca Lane.”
“Monica Hayes.”
“And Lauren Pierce.”
Marcus immediately started searching.
Dominic asked.
“What happened to them?”
“Rebecca quit.”
“Monica moved away.”
“Lauren was dismissed.”
“Why?”
“She accused Dr. Mercer of hurting Noah.”
Dominic stared at her.
“And you fired her?”
“Mercer said she was unstable.”
Dominic's voice became dangerously low.
“You fired a woman for telling you my son was being hurt?”
“I believed his doctor.”
“No.”
Clara looked at her.
“You believed the answer that kept the house quiet.”
Mrs. Hargrove stared at Clara with sudden hatred.
“You know nothing about this family.”
Clara held her gaze.
“I know a four-year-old is terrified of adults who were supposed to protect him.”
That silenced the room.
Marcus's phone vibrated.
“I found Rebecca Lane.”
Dominic turned.
“Where?”
“Dead.”
Clara's stomach dropped.
“When?”
“Fourteen months ago.”
“Cause?”
“Apartment fire.”
Marcus continued searching.
“Monica Hayes.”
He stopped.
Dominic already knew.
“Dead?”
Marcus nodded.
“Car accident.”
“And Lauren?”
Marcus looked up.
“Missing.”
Dominic stared at Mrs. Hargrove.
“Three nannies noticed something.”
“One is missing.”
“Two are dead.”
“And you expect me to believe that's coincidence?”
Mrs. Hargrove went pale.
Before she could answer, the mansion lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the library.
Marcus drew his gun.
“Stay down!”
A gunshot exploded in the hallway.
Then another.
Clara dropped behind the sofa.
Dominic pulled Mrs. Hargrove to the floor.
Emergency lights flickered red.
Marcus opened the library door.
A guard lay outside.
Blood spread beneath him.
“Marcus!”
“Alive.”
A scream echoed upstairs.
Clara's heart stopped.
“Noah.”
She ran.
Dominic shouted behind her.
“CLARA!”
She ignored him.
She raced upstairs.
Noah's bedroom door stood open.
His bed was empty.
The blue elephant lay on the floor.
May you like
And written across his wall in red paint were five words.
HE SHOULD HAVE STAYED SILENT.
