I rushed to the bedroom door and twisted the handle.
Locked.
“David!” I shouted, pounding hard on the wood. “Open this door right now!”
No answer.
I heard footsteps moving away—slow, unhurried.
I sank to the floor beside the bed, Jacob whimpering in my lap.
My own husband had locked me inside.
I tended to Jacob as best I could. The burns were painful but thankfully not deep. I dressed him in loose clothing and laid him down.
He fell into a fitful sleep, clutching my hand.
I sat there, staring at the door, my mind racing.
Maria. The soup. “You weren’t supposed to be home.” David locking me away.
It wasn’t just a bad nanny. It was something far worse.
At midnight, I heard a key turn in the lock.
The door creaked open.
David stood there. Alone.
He walked in slowly and shut the door behind him. Leaned his back against it.
“Is Jacob asleep?” he asked quietly.
“What did you do?” I whispered, standing up slowly. “Why did you lock us in?”
He didn’t flinch.
“For your own good,” he said. “You saw things today. You misunderstood.”
“I saw you conspiring with a woman who hurt our child!” I said, my voice rising. “What is going on, David?”
He stepped forward, his face hardening.
“Leave it alone, Elena. Go back to being the wife I married. Quiet. Obedient. And none of this ever happened.”
I stared at him, as if seeing him for the very first time.
“Or what?” I said.
David’s eyes narrowed.
“Or you might regret coming home early that day.”
The threat hung in the air, heavy and deadly.
He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a hiss.
“Maria is not just the nanny. And you—you are in no position to make trouble.”
My blood turned to ice.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
David smiled then—a cold, cruel smile I had never seen before.
“It means,” he said, “that if you tell anyone anything… I will make sure you lose everything. Including Jacob.”
I gasped.
“You wouldn’t,” I breathed.
“Try me,” he said.
He turned to leave.
At the door, he paused and looked back over his shoulder.
“Oh, and Elena?”
“Yes?” I said, my heart pounding so hard it hurt.
“Maria is moving into the guest room. Starting tonight.”
