Chapter 4 - The Fever
The threat from my mother had been silenced,
but a new danger arrived in the middle of a storm.
Maisie woke up at midnight,
not with a scream,
but with a low,
shuddering moan.
I was in the hallway before the first cry had even ended.
Elise was already there,
holding the girl against her chest,
her face etched with worry.
"She’s burning up,
sir,"
Elise said,
her hand resting on Maisie’s forehead.
I reached out and felt the heat radiating from my daughter’s skin.
It was like touching a furnace.
"Call the doctor,"
I commanded,
the old panic rising in my throat.
"The storm has knocked out the lines,"
Elise replied,
rocking the girl gently.
"And the roads are flooded."
"I’ve already checked with security."
"We’re on our own for now."
I felt a surge of helplessness that terrified me.
I could handle assassins,
I could handle corporate takeovers,
but I couldn't fight a fever.
"What do we do?"
I asked,
my voice cracking.
"We cool her down,"
Elise said,
her voice calm and steady.
"Get some cool water and cloths."
"I’ll stay with her."
I spent the next four hours as Elise’s assistant.
I fetched water,
I held the cloths,
and I watched as she navigated the crisis with a grace I couldn't fathom.
She didn't panic,
she didn't falter.
She spoke to Maisie in a low,
soothing voice,
telling her about the stars and the moon and the birds in the garden.
Rosie woke up and began to cry,
sensing her sister’s distress.
I picked her up,
holding her against my chest,
walking the floor while Elise focused on the sick child.
In the quiet of the night,
with the rain lashing against the windows,
the roles shifted.
I wasn't the billionaire boss,
and she wasn't the hired help.
We were just two people fighting for the life of a child.
"You’re doing a good job,
Marcus,"
Elise whispered,
not looking up from the bed.
It was the first time she had used my name,
and it felt like a title I had finally earned.
"I’m just following your lead,"
I replied,
sitting on the edge of the bed with Rosie in my arms.
"You have a natural gift with them."
"Why did you become a nanny,
Elise?"
She smiled,
a sad,
beautiful expression.
"I lost my own sister when I was young,"
she said.
"I spent years trying to figure out how to stop the hurting."
"I realized that you can't stop it,
but you can walk through it with someone."
"I saw your eyes when I first arrived,
Marcus."
"You were drowning in the middle of a mansion."
"I wanted to help you find the shore."
I looked at her,
really looked at her,
and saw the strength behind the gentleness.
She wasn't just a girl who danced with rubber gloves.
She was a warrior of the heart.
As the first light of dawn broke through the clouds,
Maisie’s fever finally broke.
She fell into a deep,
peaceful sleep,
her skin cool and pale once more.
Elise let out a long sigh,
her head drooping with exhaustion.
I reached out and took her hand,
my thumb brushing against her knuckles.
"You should sleep,"
I said.
"I’ll stay with them."
She looked at me,
her brown eyes searching mine.
"You’ve changed,"
she whispered.
"No,"
I said,
leaning closer.
"I’ve just remembered who I am."
I didn't kiss her,
but the air between us was electric with the promise of it.
The walls were gone,
May you like
and for the first time since Elena died,
I could see the future.
