Chapter 9 - The Nanny's Secret
|
Daniel hung up the phone, the adrenaline burning away his exhaustion. He couldn't break into Julian’s office, but he needed leverage. He needed someone who knew the real Vanessa, someone who had seen behind the mask.
He opened his contacts and scrolled to a name he hadn't spoken to in eight months.
Maria. Lily's old nanny.
Maria had worked for the family since Lily was a baby. Eight months ago, Vanessa had abruptly fired her, claiming Maria was stealing silverware. Daniel had believed his wife, paying Maria a generous severance to leave quietly to avoid a scandal.
He dialed her number. She answered on the fourth ring, sounding sleepy and hesitant.
"Mr. Bennett?"
"Maria, I am so sorry to call this late," Daniel began, his voice tight. "I need your help. It's about Lily. She's been hurt."
The sleepiness instantly vanished from Maria's voice. "What happened to my niña? Is she okay?"
"She will be," Daniel promised. "Maria, I need to know the truth. Why did Vanessa really fire you?"
There was a long, heavy silence. Daniel could hear her breathing, weighing the cost of telling the truth against the fear of a billionaire's wrath.
"She didn't fire me for stealing, Mr. Bennett," Maria finally whispered, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion. "She fired me because I caught her."
"Caught her doing what?"
"She was horrible to Lily when you weren't home," Maria confessed, crying softly. "She would lock her in her room for hours. She would tell her that her real mother died because Lily was a bad girl. It was psychological torture. I tried to record it on my phone to show you."
Daniel felt physically sick. The monster had been terrorizing his child in his own home.
"Vanessa found the recording," Maria continued. "She told me if I showed you, she would have her lawyer friends report my husband to immigration. She said she would destroy my family. So I left."
May you like
"Maria," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a desperate plea. "Did you keep the recording?"
"No. She smashed my phone with a hammer in the kitchen," Maria sniffled. "But Mr. Bennett... I didn't just use my phone. I knew she was dangerous. Before I left, I bought a hidden nanny cam. I hid it in the library."
