Chapter 8 - THE NIGHT DANIEL STAYED
Lucas woke screaming at 1:14 a.m.
Daniel heard him from the adjoining room.
Usually a night nurse would respond.
There was no night nurse anymore.
Daniel had dismissed the entire caregiver rotation temporarily.
Not the people.
The system.
He entered Lucas’s bedroom.
The boy sat upright, crying.
“Natalie?”
Daniel stopped.
“She’s sleeping.”
Lucas tried to climb out of bed.
Daniel sat beside him.
“I’m here.”
“I want Natalie.”
“I know.”
“Get her.”
Daniel nearly did.
Then remembered Grace’s letter.
Be his father.
He stayed.
Lucas became angry.
“I want Natalie!”
“She needs sleep.”
“You make everyone leave!”
The words hit hard.
Daniel did not defend himself.
Instead he said:
“I made mistakes.”
Lucas stared.
Adults rarely said that to him.
Daniel continued.
“I let other people make too many decisions.”
“Mrs. Hart?”
“Yes.”
“Are you firing her?”
Daniel hesitated.
“I’m finding out what happened first.”
Lucas’s face twisted.
“She’ll make Natalie go.”
“No.”
“She always does!”
Daniel moved closer.
“Not this time.”
Lucas began crying harder.
“You promise?”
Daniel had learned to fear that word.
Promise.
Children remembered them.
Adults often used them carelessly.
“I promise nobody will remove Natalie without telling you why.”
Lucas shook his head.
“That’s not same.”
Daniel almost smiled.
“No.”
His son was right.
“I can’t promise Natalie will stay forever.”
Lucas’s face collapsed.
Daniel held up a hand.
“But I can promise something better.”
“What?”
“If someone leaves, we talk about it.”
Lucas sniffed.
“You won’t say it’s because I’m bad?”
“No.”
“If I scream?”
“No.”
“If I break stuff?”
Daniel glanced toward a lamp.
“You’re definitely losing some privileges.”
Lucas almost smiled.
“But nobody gets erased because you have feelings.”
The boy looked at him for a long time.
Then moved closer.
Daniel opened his arms.
Lucas climbed into them.
They stayed that way until the child fell asleep.
Daniel did not return to his own room.
He slept awkwardly in the chair.
At breakfast, Evelyn noticed.
“You look exhausted.”
Daniel drank coffee.
“I was with Lucas.”
Evelyn’s expression changed.
“You should have called staff.”
“I did what Grace asked me to do.”
Evelyn went very still.
Daniel watched her.
He had deliberately used Grace’s name.
“Grace?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn placed her tablet on the table.
“What do you mean?”
“I found her journal.”
For the first time, Daniel saw fear.
Real fear.
It disappeared quickly.
“Her medical period was extremely difficult.”
Daniel said nothing.
“She was taking strong medication.”
Still nothing.
“Some of her perceptions may not have been reliable.”
Daniel set down his cup.
“That’s interesting.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“What?”
“She wrote that you would say that.”
That was a lie.
Grace had written nothing of the sort.
Daniel wanted to see Evelyn react.
She did.
Her eyes flickered.
He had her.
“Daniel—”
His phone rang.
Thomas Keene.
Daniel answered on speaker without warning.
“Thomas.”
“Can we meet?”
“Now?”
“Private.”
Evelyn’s expression sharpened.
Daniel leaned back.
“Come to the house.”
“No.”
Thomas sounded frightened.
Daniel had never heard that before.
“Why?”
A pause.
Then Thomas whispered:
“Because Evelyn knows you’re auditing the accounts.”
Daniel looked directly at Evelyn.
Her face drained.
Thomas continued:
“She’s going to blame everything on me.”
Evelyn stood.
“Turn that off.”
Daniel did not move.
Thomas’s voice:
“You need to listen to me. The staffing money was her system.”
Evelyn crossed the table.
Daniel raised one hand.
She stopped.
Thomas continued:
“But the third account wasn’t hers.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“Whose?”
Silence.
“Thomas.”
“I can’t say on the phone.”
“Then come here.”
“No.”
A breath.
“I made copies.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
Daniel stood.
“Where are you?”
“I’ll send a location.”
The call ended.
Evelyn looked furious now.
“He’s lying.”
Daniel faced her.
“Maybe.”
“You’ve known me twelve years.”
“Yes.”
“I raised Lucas when Grace died.”
Daniel’s expression changed.
“No.”
Evelyn froze.
“You managed his schedule.”
He stepped closer.
“You were never supposed to replace his mother.”
Evelyn picked up her tablet.
“I think I should take the evening off.”
Daniel’s voice hardened.
“You’re not leaving.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Am I a prisoner?”
“No.”
He looked toward security.
“But household financial records are now under preservation order.”
Evelyn stared.
Daniel continued.
“And so are your devices.”
Two security officers approached.
Evelyn slowly handed over the tablet.
Then she looked past Daniel toward Lucas, who stood near the doorway holding Natalie’s hand.
Something cold entered Evelyn’s expression.
Lucas immediately tightened his grip.
Daniel saw it.
May you like
So did Natalie.
And for the first time, Evelyn Hart understood that the frightened child she had controlled for three years was no longer alone.
