Chapter 2 - Adrien Moretti Realized the Woman His Family Had Purchased Was the Only Person His Four Children Trusted—Then Someone Tried to Get Her FiredTheo recovered.
The doctor diagnosed a severe infection.
Adrien barely left his side.
I stayed too.
When Theo woke, the first person he looked for was me.
“Where's Elena?”
Adrien looked at me.
I didn't know what to say.
He answered for me.
“She's here.”
Theo smiled.
That single smile changed something.
Adrien began watching me differently.
Not like an employee.
Like a question.
He asked about my medical history.
My education.
My family.
My previous work.
I told him most of it.
Not all.
I didn't tell him about the $5,000 receipt.
I still carried it.
Not because I needed the money.
Because I needed to remember what my parents had done.
One afternoon, Adrien entered the kitchen.
I was making soup.
“What are you doing?”
“Cooking.”
“You have a chef.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“The children like this.”
He tasted the soup.
His expression remained serious.
“It needs salt.”
I stared.
“I know.”
He smiled.
Barely.
But he smiled.
The children came running.
“Is it ready?”
“Yes.”
They ate.
Adrien stood at the counter watching.
For a moment, he looked like a father.
Not a billionaire.
Not a criminal.
Just a father.
Later that week, he showed me the children's school reports.
Sofia struggled with reading.
Mia refused to sleep alone.
Noah was constantly getting into fights.
Theo had nightmares.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“Because you've managed to get more cooperation from them in four days than the last three nannies did in six months.”
I looked at the reports.
“That's not because I'm special.”
“What is it?”
“I don't treat them like problems.”
Adrien went quiet.
Then said:
“Most people do.”
I looked at him.
“So do you.”
He flinched.
“You're right.”
That was the first time he admitted it.
Then the next crisis hit.
Payroll records.
The family discovered unusual deductions.
The house staff were being charged for a childcare program that supposedly existed.
But the service had ended months earlier.
I saw one of the deductions.
It was $70 a month.
A housekeeper earning barely enough to cover rent.
I took the file to Adrien.
“These are wrong.”
He frowned.
“What?”
“Your employees are paying for childcare they aren't receiving.”
He looked at the report.
“How did you notice?”
“I see their pay stubs.”
His jaw tightened.
He called accounting.
The answer shocked him.
Three million dollars.
Gone.
The money had been transferred through a shell company.
The shell company connected to a family associate.
Adrien looked at me.
“You found the fraud.”
“I found a deduction.”
“You understand what this means.”
“I understand that people are losing money.”
He stared.
Then he said:
“Stay out of it.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
His eyes hardened.
“This isn't a request.”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Because these people work in your house.”
He said nothing.
The next morning, I was fired.
Mrs. Mercer found me packing.
“What happened?”
“Mr. Moretti says I'm leaving.”
Her face fell.
“He didn't tell me.”
“He doesn't have to.”
I hugged Theo before I left.
He cried.
Sofia cried.
Mia wouldn't speak.
Noah stood in front of the door.
“She's not leaving.”
Adrien entered.
“Move.”
Noah shook his head.
“She stays.”
“I'm sorry.”
I looked at Adrien.
“You don't have to be sorry.”
He stared at me.
Then looked at the children.
Something changed.
“Don't pack.”
I froze.
“What?”
“You're staying.”
“Why?”
“Because I think someone wanted you gone.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
May you like
He walked toward me.
“I'm about to find out.”
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