Chapter 5 - The Boy in the Mansion
Thursday morning started as a total disaster for Megan.
Her unreliable neighborhood daycare had a burst water pipe.
She had no one to watch little Jason.
She had no choice but to bring the eighteen-month-old to the Mason estate.
She snuck him through the service entrance in his stroller.
She hid him in the oversized laundry room while she folded towels.
She gave him a box of dry cereal and prayed he would stay quiet.
For three hours, the plan worked perfectly.
Then Nancy demanded Megan clean the grand staircase immediately.
Megan left the laundry room for just four minutes.
When she returned, the stroller was empty.
Panic seized her throat like a tight fist.
She sprinted through the endless hallways, calling his name in a harsh whisper.
She checked the kitchen, the sitting rooms, and the library.
Then she heard a terrifying sound.
It was Jason’s high-pitched giggle.
It was coming from Dominic’s private office.
Megan burst through the heavy doors, expecting the billionaire to be furious.
Instead, she stopped dead in her tracks.
Dominic was sitting in his wheelchair holding a small red ball.
Jason was standing by his wheels, clapping his chubby hands.
Dominic awkwardly tossed the ball.
Jason waddled after it, laughing hysterically.
Megan apologized profusely, rushing forward to scoop up her son.
Dominic held up his hand, signaling her to stop.
He told her the boy was fine.
Megan was stunned by the softness in his voice.
He asked Jason for his name.
Jason proudly yelled his name while gnawing on his own fingers.
Dominic looked at Megan and asked who was watching the boy.
Megan confessed the daycare situation, expecting to be fired on the spot.
Dominic remained silent for a long, agonizing minute.
He finally said the house was too big to be empty anyway.
He told her Jason could stay in the sunroom during her shifts.
Relief washed over Megan so intensely she almost cried.
She thanked him, grabbing Jason’s small hand.
As they walked out, Jason dropped a piece of paper he had found under the desk.
Megan bent down to pick it up.
It was a printed background check report.
Her own face stared back at her from the top corner.
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Underneath her name was a single sentence highlighted in bright yellow ink.
It read that the subject had no idea she was the sole heir to the Vance fortune.
