Chapter 1 - The Maid Who Arrived With a Child
Eleven weeks earlier, Grace Miller stood outside Nathan Cole’s mansion holding a suitcase in one hand and Lily’s fingers in the other.
The house looked even larger than it had in the photographs.
Three stories of pale stone rose behind a circular drive lined with trimmed hedges. Tall windows reflected the blue Connecticut sky. A fountain stood in the center of the driveway.
Lily stared upward.
“Is this a castle?”
Grace forced a smile.
“No, sweetheart.”
“It looks like one.”
“I know.”
“Does a princess live here?”
Grace looked at the front door.
“No.”
That, at least, was true.
Victoria Hale opened the door before Grace could ring the bell.
Grace knew immediately who she was.
She had seen Victoria in magazines.
At charity galas.
Beside Nathan at company events.
The woman standing before her was beautiful in the calculated way of someone who had spent years learning precisely how to be photographed.
Blonde hair.
Perfect posture.
Cream trousers.
Gold earrings.
A smile that never reached her eyes.
“You’re Grace?”
“Yes.”
Victoria looked at Lily.
“And this is?”
“My niece. Lily.”
Victoria’s gaze lingered on the child longer than necessary.
Grace felt Lily’s fingers tighten around hers.
“The agency mentioned her,” Victoria said. “I was under the impression childcare arrangements had already been made.”
“They have. She’ll attend preschool during the day. She’ll stay with me in the staff suite at night.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Grace held her gaze.
“I won’t allow her to interfere with my work.”
Victoria smiled.
“Good.”
Then a man’s voice came from the staircase.
“Victoria?”
Grace’s body went rigid.
Nathan Cole appeared at the top of the stairs.
She had prepared herself for this moment for almost eighteen months.
Nothing had prepared her enough.
He looked older than the photographs Sarah had kept.
More tired around the eyes.
More powerful.
But it was him.
The man whose picture had been hidden in the bottom drawer of Sarah Miller’s dresser for four years.
The man who had no idea Lily existed.
Nathan descended the stairs while checking something on his phone.
“Is that the new housekeeper?”
“Housemaid,” Victoria corrected. “Mrs. Dawson remains head housekeeper.”
Nathan looked up.
His gaze moved to Grace.
Then Lily.
He smiled automatically.
“Hi.”
Lily hid behind Grace’s skirt.
Nathan gave a small laugh.
“Apparently I’m terrifying.”
“She’s shy,” Grace said.
Nathan crouched slightly.
“What’s your name?”
Lily peeked around Grace.
“Lily.”
“That’s a nice name.”
“My mommy liked flowers.”
Grace’s breath caught.
Nathan’s expression softened.
“Did she?”
Lily nodded.
“My mommy’s in heaven.”
Victoria’s eyes moved immediately toward Grace.
Nathan became serious.
“I’m sorry.”
Lily looked at him for several seconds.
Then she said something that made Grace’s heart stop.
“You look like my picture.”
Victoria’s head snapped toward her.
Nathan frowned.
“What picture?”
Grace moved quickly.
“Lily has a lot of picture books.”
Lily looked confused.
“But Aunt Grace…”
“Come on,” Grace said. “We should get settled.”
She pulled gently on Lily’s hand.
Nathan stepped aside.
As they passed him, Grace felt his eyes on them.
Victoria felt it too.
Grace knew because when she looked back, Victoria was staring at Lily.
Not with irritation.
Not with jealousy.
With recognition.
That night, after Lily fell asleep, Grace locked the staff bedroom door.
She removed the false bottom from her suitcase.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
The handwriting on the front belonged to Sarah.
For Nathan.
If anything ever happens to me, please make sure he gets this.
Grace had promised her dying sister that she would deliver it.
She had failed for eighteen months.
Fear had stopped her.
Money had stopped her.
Nathan’s security had stopped her.
And Victoria had stopped every letter Grace had attempted to send.
Taking a job inside the mansion was Grace’s last option.
She placed the envelope beneath her mattress.
Then she opened her phone.
There were three unread messages from an unknown number.
The first said:
You made a mistake coming here.
The second arrived ten seconds later.
Take the child and leave.
Grace stared at the screen.
Then the third message appeared.
Sarah should have taught you what happens when people refuse to stay quiet.
May you like
Grace slowly looked toward the locked door.
Someone inside Nathan Cole’s house knew exactly who she was.
