Chapter 3: The Secret Hidden Inside the Watch
The message disappeared three seconds after it appeared.
Three seconds.
That was all.
Just long enough for me to read the words.
*I know who hurt me.*
Then the screen went black.
Leo stared at his wrist.
“Miss Ava?””
His voice was small.
Confused.
Like he was waiting for an adult to explain why his world had suddenly changed.
I looked at Daniel.
He looked like someone had taken the air out of the room.
“Who was that?”” he whispered.
I didn’t answer.
Because I was asking myself the same question.
Emily was alive.
She had called through Leo’s watch.
She had warned me not to let Daniel know where she was.
And now she was saying someone hurt her.
Someone.
Not something.
Someone.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Give me the watch.””
Leo immediately pulled his arm back.
“No.””
Daniel stopped.
The reaction seemed to surprise him.
“Leo, I just want to check something.””
“No.””
The little boy moved behind me.
I saw something flash across Daniel’s face.
Pain.
Not anger.
Pain.
“Leo…”
“My mom said not to give it to anyone.””
The silence afterward was unbearable.
Daniel looked at me.
“You knew about this?””
“No.””
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“I don’t believe you.””
The words hit me harder than I expected.
After everything I had done for his son, after everything I had just risked, he still looked at me like I was part of the problem.
I stepped back.
“Then maybe you should ask yourself why your wife trusted me instead of you.””
Daniel looked away.
Because he knew.
Somewhere deep down, he knew.
The next morning, I woke up before sunrise.
I hadn’t slept.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Emily standing beside the car.
I saw the fear in her face.
I saw the way she said Daniel’s name without saying it.
Like the name itself carried danger.
I walked downstairs quietly.
The Grant house was different in the early morning.
Without voices.
Without guests.
Without pretending.
The expensive furniture, the perfect decorations, the spotless floors.
Everything looked like a museum.
A place where nobody was allowed to make mistakes.
I found Leo sitting at the kitchen table.
He was wearing pajamas and holding a bowl of cereal.
“You’re awake early,” I said.
He looked up.
“I couldn’t sleep.””
I sat across from him.
“Me neither.””
He pushed the cereal around with his spoon.
“Do you think my mom is coming home?””
I wanted to say yes.
I wanted to give him the answer every child deserved.
But I had learned something in that house.
Beautiful lies could hurt more than ugly truths.
“I think she’s trying.””
Leo looked down.
“She always tried.””
I studied him.
“What do you mean?””
He hesitated.
Then he whispered:
“Grandma didn’t like when Mom asked questions.””
My heart tightened.
“What questions?””
Leo looked toward the hallway.
The same hallway where Mrs. Grant had appeared the day before with the broom.
“About Dad.””
I stayed very still.
“What about your dad?””
Leo shrugged.
“She said he was hiding something.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Leo, did your mom ever tell you she was afraid?””
He nodded slowly.
“Once.””
“When?””
He looked at his watch.
“Before she left.””
I leaned forward.
“What did she say?””
Leo touched the camera on his wrist.
“She told me this would help Miss Ava find the truth.””
My breathing stopped.
“What truth?””
Leo’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know.””
Then he added:
“But Mom said if anything happened, you would know what to do.””
The weight of those words settled over me.
Because I didn’t know what to do.
I was a nanny.
Not a detective.
Not a lawyer.
Not someone who knew how to uncover secrets hidden inside wealthy families.
But Emily had trusted me.
And now Leo needed me.
By noon, Officer Miller returned.
This time, he came alone.
Daniel met him at the door.
I watched from the living room.
Their conversation was quiet.
Too quiet.
Then Officer Miller looked at me.
“Ava, can I speak with you?””
I followed him into the study.
It was Daniel’s office.
A room I had rarely entered.
The curtains were closed.
The shelves were filled with law books.
And on the desk sat framed photographs.
Daniel and Leo.
Daniel and Emily.
A perfect family.
A perfect lie.
Officer Miller placed a folder down.
“We checked Emily Grant’s disappearance records.””
“And?””
“She disappeared eight months ago.””
I nodded.
“I know.””
“But there’s something strange.””
“What?””
He opened the folder.
“Her bank accounts were frozen the week before she disappeared.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
“She transferred money.””
“To where?””
“We’re still investigating.””
He looked at me.
“But there’s more.””
I waited.
“Emily filed a private complaint two days before she vanished.””
My stomach tightened.
“Against who?””
Officer Miller hesitated.
“Her complaint wasn’t completed.””
“Why not?””
“Because she never submitted the final documents.””
I stared at him.
“Did she name anyone?””
He looked down at the paper.
“Yes.””
A pause.
Then:
“Daniel Grant.””
The room felt smaller.
I looked toward the door.
“Are you saying Daniel hurt his wife?””
Officer Miller shook his head.
“I’m saying Emily was concerned about something involving him.””
“That’s not the same thing.””
“No.””
He closed the folder.
“It isn’t.””
I appreciated that answer.
Because there was a difference between suspicion and truth.
A difference everyone in this house seemed to ignore.
Officer Miller continued.
“We also checked the watch.””
My attention snapped back.
“What about it?””
“The camera footage wasn’t the only thing stored there.””
He pulled out a small device.
“The watch has a hidden storage partition.””
I stared.
“A hidden one?””
“Yes.””
“Can you access it?””
“We’re trying.””
I felt a strange sense of fear.
Because Emily didn’t just leave Leo a camera.
She left him a vault.
A tiny piece of technology carrying whatever she couldn’t say out loud.
Officer Miller looked serious.
“Before we open it, I need to ask you something.””
“What?””
“Why do you think Emily trusted you?””
I didn’t know how to answer.
I thought about the last two years.
The late nights.
The school pickups.
The conversations.
The moments nobody else saw.
Then I remembered something.
Something I had forgotten.
“She once told me she watched how I treated Leo.””
Officer Miller waited.
“She said everyone around her wanted something from him.””
“What did you want?””
I looked at him.
“Nothing.””
And that was the truth.
I didn’t want money.
I didn’t want their house.
I didn’t want their family.
I just wanted Leo to feel safe.
That evening, Daniel finally asked to speak with me.
Not as my employer.
Not as Leo’s father.
Just as a man who looked terrified.
We stood in the backyard.
The same place where Leo used to run through the grass with a toy airplane.
Daniel kept his hands in his pockets.
“I owe you an apology.””
I said nothing.
“I should have stopped my mother.””
“Yes.””
He nodded.
“I know.””
“Why didn’t you?””
He stared at the ground.
For a long time, he didn’t answer.
Then:
“Because I’ve spent years believing things that weren’t true.””
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
He looked toward the house.
“My mother raised me to think she was always protecting me.””
“And now?””
“Now I’m not sure.””
The honesty surprised me.
“Daniel, your wife disappeared.””
“I know.””
“Your mother attacked me.””
“I know.””
“Your son is afraid.””
His face tightened.
“I know.””
“Then tell me the truth.””
He looked at me.
“I don’t know the whole truth.””
A cold breeze moved through the yard.
“But I know one thing.””
“What?””
“Emily wasn’t running away from us.””
He swallowed.
“She was running from someone.””
Before I could ask more, a sound came from inside.
A crash.
We both turned.
Leo screamed.
“Dad!””
We ran into the house.
The living room was empty.
But the study door was open.
The hidden storage device from Officer Miller was gone.
And on Daniel’s desk was a handwritten note.
I picked it up.
The handwriting was familiar.
Not Emily’s.
Not Daniel’s.
Mrs. Grant’s.
May you like
The note contained only one sentence.
*You should have let the nanny leave. Now you’ll never find what Emily hid.*
