My Twin Sons Chose Their Nanny Over Me—Then One Terrified Finger Pointed Straight at Margaret’s Office.

Lena’s blue eyes flickered with a sudden, guarded anxiety. She lowered her gaze to the carpet, her fingers nervously tracing the lace trim of her pale-yellow dress.

"I... I just try to do my job, Mr. Caldwell," Lena whispered softly, her sweet voice laced with hesitation. "I love Nico and Noah. I would give my life for these boys."

"I know you would," Ethan replied, crouching back down so he was eye-level with her. His short beard and sharp features looked less intimidating now, filled with an intense, protective focus. "Look at me, Lena."

Lena slowly lifted her eyes to meet his intense, piercing gaze.

"Did Margaret say something to you?" Ethan asked directly.

Before Lena could answer, a sudden, violent shift occurred in the room.

Nico, who was still sitting in Lena’s lap, suddenly turned his head toward the open living room door. His tiny body went rigid. He raised a small, chubby arm, pointing his tiny index finger out into the hallway, directly toward a heavy, dark wood door situated at the end of the corridor—Margaret’s private office.

The little boy's rosy face twisted with intense fear. His big blue eyes filled with sudden tears.

"Bad Nana!" Nico cried out in a frightened, high-pitched little voice, pointing desperately at the hallway. "Bad Nana!"

At the sound of her twin's distress, Noah immediately burst into loud, frantic tears. He scrambled completely behind Lena’s back, burying his face beneath her white apron, his tiny body trembling as he squeezed his eyes shut.

Nico scrambled after his brother, hiding behind Lena’s trembling arms, both boys clinging to their nanny as if she were the only shield in a dangerous world.

Ethan stood up instantly, his entire demeanor changing in a microsecond. The fatherly warmth vanished, replaced by the terrifying, lethal presence of the Black King. His broad chest expanded, his muscles flexing beneath his tailored suit as his piercing eyes locked onto the dark hallway outside.

"Nico," Ethan said, his voice dropping into a dangerously calm tone. "What did you say?"

Nico peeked out from behind Lena’s pale-yellow dress, his cheeks wet with tears, his tiny finger still pointing at Margaret’s office door. "Bad Nana! Scared!"

Lena looked up at Ethan, her own face pale with a mix of shock and fear. "Mr. Caldwell... the boys are terrified of Margaret. Whenever you leave the estate, she... she comes into the nursery."

Ethan’s jaw clenched so tight the skin over his cheekbones turned pale. "What does she do, Lena? Tell me right now."

"She... she yells at them if they make noise," Lena stammered, tears welling in her blue eyes as she held the crying twins close. "She tells them they are a burden. Last week, when Noah spilled his milk, she locked him in his room for an hour! I tried to stop her, sir! I swear I tried! But she told me that if I said a word to you, she would have you fire me and make sure I was thrown in prison! She said you trusted her more than anyone!"

The air in the grand living room turned lethal.

Marco, standing in the doorway, let out a dark, murderous growl, his hand dropping flat onto his sidearms. "Boss..."

Ethan didn't speak. The realization hit him like a physical blow. Margaret hadn't just lied to him outside the gate—she had been abusing his infant sons and terrorizing their innocent nanny while using his authority as a weapon. She had tried to frame Lena to get rid of the only person standing between her and total control of the Caldwell household.

Ethan turned slowly toward the hallway, his posture rigid, his piercing eyes narrowing into twin beams of absolute, cold fury.

Across the corridor, at the far end of the hallway, a loud, heavy lock disengaged.