Chapter 2 - The Secrets in the Shadows
The night stretched on,
dark and unforgiving,
blanketing the mansion in an eerie silence.
I sat in the leather chair in my study,
holding Ethan,
watching his chest rise and fall as he finally slept.
The glow of the fireplace cast long shadows across the room,
dancing on the walls,
reminding me of the demons I fought every single day.
My phone vibrated on the heavy oak desk,
disrupting the quietness of the room,
demanding my attention.
It was Marcus,
my head of security,
the man who handled the problems money could not solve.
I answered it carefully,
making sure not to wake the boy sleeping in my arms.
"It is done,
Boss,"
Marcus said,
his voice gruff,
professional,
completely devoid of emotion.
"She is in the guest house,
the guards are posted at every exit,
and her phone has been confiscated."
"Good,"
I replied,
staring at the dying embers in the fireplace,
feeling no sympathy for the woman I had banished.
"I want a full sweep of the main house,
every room,
every camera,
every digital footprint she left behind."
Marcus paused,
a rare moment of hesitation from a man who never hesitated.
"You think she was planning something worse,
sir?"
"I do not guess,
Marcus,
I verify,"
I said,
my grip tightening slightly on the armrest.
"Find out who she has been talking to,
where she has been going,
and why my son is terrified of his own mother."
"Understood,"
he replied,
hanging up the phone,
leaving me alone with my thoughts.
I looked down at Ethan,
brushing a soft curl away from his forehead,
making a silent promise to burn the world down before letting anyone hurt him again.
A soft knock on the study door pulled me from my dark thoughts.
The door creaked open,
slowly,
revealing Sarah standing in the hallway,
holding a warm bottle of milk.
She looked exhausted,
her uniform slightly wrinkled,
the red mark on her cheek still visible,
a painful reminder of my failure to protect my home.
"I thought he might be hungry,
Mr. Bennett,"
she said softly,
her eyes darting nervously around the imposing study,
intimidated by the dark wood and leather.
"Come in,
Sarah,"
I said,
gesturing toward the chair opposite mine.
She walked in hesitantly,
placing the bottle on the desk,
but refused to sit down.
"I should get back to cleaning,
sir,"
she murmured,
keeping her head lowered,
showing the subservience she had been taught by my cruel wife.
"Sit,"
I commanded,
not raising my voice,
but using the tone that made grown men tremble.
She sat down immediately,
her hands folded in her lap,
waiting for my judgment.
"I owe you an apology,"
I started,
surprising myself,
because I was a man who never apologized to anyone.
She looked up,
her brown eyes wide with confusion,
shaking her head quickly.
"No,
Mr. Bennett,
you do not owe me anything,
I should have stopped her."
"You are a housekeeper,
Sarah,
not a bodyguard,"
I replied,
my voice softening as Ethan shifted in his sleep.
"You took a hit for my son,
you protected him when the person who gave birth to him would not."
She looked down at her hands,
a tear escaping her eye,
tracing a path down her bruised cheek.
"He is a good boy,
Mr. Bennett,
he just wants to be loved,
he wants to feel safe."
Her words hit me like a physical blow,
striking the core of my guilt.
"From now on,
you are no longer just a housekeeper,
Sarah,"
I declared,
making a decision that would change all of our lives.
"You are his personal nanny,
his protector,
and nobody in this house will ever raise a hand to you again,
not even Victoria."
She looked at me,
overwhelmed,
May you like
speechless,
nodding her head as the tears finally fell.
