Chapter 2 - The Glass Cage
I could not pull my eyes away from the glowing surveillance monitors.
My little sister was lying in her hospital bed, completely unaware that she was being watched.
The camera angle was positioned perfectly from inside her private room.
I spun around and demanded to know who had set up this room.
Evan took a step back, his face pale with genuine confusion.
He swore they had never seen this hidden room before in their lives.
They had pushed the bookshelf aside just to build a fort.
Heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway before I could ask another question.
Adrian Vale appeared in the doorway, his charcoal suit immaculate and his expression unreadable.
He looked at the glowing screens and then looked directly at me.
I pushed past the boys and marched right up to the notorious crime boss.
I demanded to know why he had a live camera feed of my sick sister.
Adrian did not flinch or offer a polite apology.
He calmly stated that the cartel he was fighting targeted the families of his employees.
He had placed a camera in her room to ensure her safety while I worked for him.
I told him it was a complete violation of privacy and I wanted to quit.
Adrian pulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it to me.
It was a medical receipt from the country's top pediatric surgical team.
The document showed that my sister's life-saving surgery had just been paid for in full.
He told me the money was completely mine, but only if I survived the next seventy-two hours.
He warned me that the last nanny had not quit because of the boys.
She was a corporate spy who had been extracted by a rival syndicate.
I looked at the receipt, knowing this surgery was my sister's only chance at survival.
I folded the paper, put it in my pocket, and told him I would stay.
Adrian nodded once and turned to leave the playroom.
He paused in the doorway and told me to trust absolutely no one in this house, including the guards.
I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to bond with the boys in the massive living room.
They tested me by refusing to eat their lunch and hiding my phone in the freezer.
I handled it with endless patience, realizing they were just desperate for stability.
By evening, the youngest boy, Luke, finally climbed onto the sofa and sat beside me.
He leaned in close, wrapping his small arms around his knees.
He whispered that I was much nicer than the lady with the red hair.
I frowned, asking him if he meant the previous nanny.
Luke shook his head, his wide eyes darting nervously toward the hallway.
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He told me the red-haired lady was not a nanny.
He said she was the woman who lived in the walls and watched them sleep.
