Chapter 1 - THE WOMAN ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR.
Maya Torres had spent fourteen months protecting Mrs. Harrington from falls, missed medication, and the quiet loneliness that settled over the mansion whenever the family left town.
She never expected to be punished for protecting her from a person standing inside her own kitchen.
Vanessa Harrington leaned over the elderly woman’s wheelchair, demanding that she sign a folder resting on the quartz counter.
Mrs. Harrington’s fingers shook as she pushed the pen away.
When Vanessa reached for her wrist, Maya ran between them.
“Step away from her!”
Vanessa’s face hardened.
She snatched the wooden cane beside the wheelchair and swung it once.
Maya blocked most of the blow with her forearm, but the force knocked her onto the polished floor.
Mrs. Harrington cried out her name.
Then the front doors opened.
Daniel Harrington entered with a silver suitcase, returning two days earlier than anyone expected.
Vanessa immediately stepped in front of Maya.
“She frightened your mother,” she said. “I tried to stop her.”
Daniel looked from his fiancée’s perfect beige suit to the nurse holding her bruised arm on the floor.
Maya pointed toward the small black camera above the cabinets.
“She’s lying. Check the recording.”
For the first time, Vanessa looked afraid.
Daniel moved between her and the wheelchair.
“Don’t say another word until I see it.”
The camera’s red light blinked once.
May you like
Then Vanessa whispered something only Daniel could hear.
“There are things on that recording your mother never wanted you to know.”
Related Stories
