Chapter 1: The Splash In The Garden
The splash came before the scream.
For a moment, Grace Miller forgot how to breathe.
She stood frozen in the middle of the Harrington mansion’s garden, a stack of freshly folded towels slipping from her arms and falling onto the warm stone path. The afternoon sun still shone brightly. Birds still chirped from the old oak trees. The fountains still whispered beside the rose bushes.
Everything looked peaceful.
But the sound she had just heard did not belong in a peaceful place.
Water.
A heavy splash.
Then baby Leo screamed.
Not a hungry cry.
Not a sleepy cry.
A terrified, broken sound that ripped through the garden and went straight into Grace’s chest.
“Leo?””
The name escaped her lips before her mind even caught up.
She turned so quickly her shoes slid against the smooth stone. Her heart pounded as she looked toward the pool behind the mansion.
The Harrington family pool.
The place where everyone always said nothing bad could happen.
The place where Vivian Harrington had insisted the baby would be “perfectly safe.””
But the sight in front of Grace made her stomach drop.
The silver stroller was sitting dangerously close to the edge.
One wheel was turned sharply toward the water.
And beside it stood Vivian.
Grace stopped for half a second.
That half second would stay with her forever.
Vivian Harrington was wearing a white summer dress that moved gently in the breeze. Her blonde hair was perfectly styled, not a single strand out of place. Her makeup looked untouched.
She didn’t look like someone who had just watched a baby fall into a pool.
She looked like someone waiting for something.
Then Grace saw it.
A tiny expression that disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared.
A smile.
Not a nervous smile.
Not a relieved smile.
A small, satisfied smile.
Grace’s blood ran cold.
Then Leo screamed again.
And she stopped thinking.
“Leo!””
She ran.
Her knees hit the stone edge of the pool so hard pain shot through her legs, but she barely felt it. She leaned over, grabbed the baby’s soaked clothes, and pulled him out of the water.
Leo’s little body shook against her.
His face was red from crying.
His tiny hands grabbed onto her shirt.
“Okay, okay, I’ve got you,” Grace whispered, tears already filling her eyes.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re okay.””
The baby coughed.
Grace’s entire body went numb.
“He coughed,” she said desperately.
“He’s breathing.””
Behind her, Vivian finally moved.
“Oh my God.””
Her voice cracked perfectly.
Almost too perfectly.
Vivian rushed forward and covered her mouth with both hands.
“Oh my God, Leo!””
Grace looked up.
The woman standing there no longer had that strange smile.
Now she looked terrified.
A perfect picture of a grieving stepmother.
“My baby,” Vivian whispered.
Grace held Leo tighter.
Something about Vivian’s reaction felt wrong.
Not the words.
The timing.
The emotion appeared only after everyone could see her.
“Why was the stroller next to the pool?”” Grace asked.
Vivian blinked.
“What?””
“The stroller.”” Grace pointed toward it.
“Why was it right beside the edge?””
Vivian’s eyes widened.
For a moment, she looked offended.
Then hurt.
Then shocked.
“You think I pushed him?””
The question was loud enough that the gardener near the hedge turned around.
Grace froze.
“I didn’t say that.””
“But you’re looking at me like you did.””
Vivian’s voice trembled.
“I was standing right here. I was watching him.””
Grace stared at her.
“Then how did he fall?””
Vivian’s lips parted.
“I…”
She looked around.
And suddenly, the fear on her face grew.
“There was someone else here.””
Grace frowned.
“What?””
Vivian stepped closer, lowering her voice.
“I saw someone near the garden doors.””
The mansion doors stood open in the distance.
Grace looked toward them.
Nobody was there.
“Who?”” Grace asked.
Vivian shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
The gardener hurried over.
“What happened?””
Vivian immediately turned toward him.
“Call Daniel.””
Grace noticed it.
The way Vivian didn’t ask for an ambulance.
The way she didn’t ask if Leo was okay.
The first person she wanted was her husband.
Daniel Harrington.
Leo’s father.
Grace looked down at the baby in her arms.
Leo had stopped crying.
His eyes were open.
Wide.
Fixed on something behind her.
“Hey,” Grace whispered softly.
“You’re okay.””
But Leo wasn’t looking at her.
He was staring upward.
His tiny finger slowly lifted.
Grace followed his gaze.
At first, she saw nothing.
Only the second-floor windows of the mansion.
Then Leo pointed again.
His little hand shook.
And he made a sound.
A tiny sound.
Almost like he was trying to say something.
Vivian stepped back.
Her face changed.
“Don’t let him point at that,” she whispered.
Grace looked at her.
“What did you say?””
Vivian immediately forced a confused expression.
“I said… don’t scare him.””
But Grace had heard the fear in her voice.
Not concern.
Fear.
Before Grace could ask another question, the mansion doors flew open.
Daniel Harrington ran outside.
He looked different from the calm businessman everyone knew.
His shirt sleeves were rolled up. His face was pale. His eyes went straight to Leo.
“My son.””
He rushed over.
“Is he okay?””
Grace handed Leo carefully to him.
“He’s breathing. He was scared, but he’s okay.””
Daniel kissed his son’s wet hair.
“Thank God.””
Then he looked at Vivian.
His expression changed.
“Vivian?””
She immediately started crying.
“I don’t know what happened.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“I was inside for five minutes.””
“I know.””
“Five minutes.””
“I know, Daniel.””
Her voice broke.
“I turned around and he was gone.””
Grace watched silently.
Something didn’t add up.
Vivian was supposed to be watching Leo.
That was why Daniel had hired her.
That was why everyone trusted her.
Three months earlier, after Daniel’s first wife died unexpectedly, Vivian had entered their lives like a blessing.
At least, that was what everyone thought.
She had married Daniel six months after his wife’s funeral.
She had moved into the Harrington mansion.
She had told everyone she wanted to be a mother to Leo.
And at first, Grace believed her.
Grace had worked for the Harrington family for five years as a nanny. She had cared for Leo since the day he was born.
She knew his little habits.
The way he rubbed his nose when he was tired.
The way he laughed when someone sang off-key.
The way he reached for people he trusted.
And lately, Grace had noticed something.
Leo didn’t reach for Vivian.
Not anymore.
The baby who once smiled at everyone became quiet whenever Vivian entered the room.
Grace had mentioned it once.
Only once.
And Vivian had not forgotten.
“Some babies take time to adjust,” Vivian had said with a sweet smile.
Then she added something Grace never forgot.
“Especially when other people make them feel like they already belong to someone else.””
At the time, Grace thought it was just a strange comment.
Now she wasn’t sure.
Daniel carried Leo inside while Vivian followed closely behind.
Grace stayed outside.
Her eyes moved back to the pool.
Something had happened here.
Something more than an accident.
She walked toward the stroller.
The silver frame was still wet from the splash. One blanket hung halfway out. A small stuffed rabbit sat inside.
Grace bent down.
The stroller wheel was locked.
Her eyebrows pulled together.
If the wheel was locked, how had it rolled forward?
She touched the handle.
Then she noticed something.
A small scratch on the stone path.
The stroller had not rolled.
It had been moved.
Grace stood up slowly.
“Grace?””
She turned.
Vivian was standing in the doorway.
Her tears were gone.
Completely gone.
The woman in front of her looked calm again.
Cold.
“What are you doing?”” Vivian asked.
Grace stared at her.
“I was looking at the stroller.””
“Why?””
“Because something feels wrong.””
A quiet smile appeared on Vivian’s lips.
Not the same smile from before.
Something sharper.
“You should be careful with accusations, Grace.””
“I’m not accusing you.””
“No?””
Vivian stepped closer.
“You’ve always been protective of Leo.””
Grace said nothing.
“And I understand that,” Vivian continued.
“You loved his mother. You cared for him before I came here.””
The words sounded polite.
But the meaning underneath them was cruel.
“You think I’m trying to replace her.””
Grace looked at her.
“Are you?””
For the first time, Vivian’s expression cracked.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Then she leaned closer.
“Be careful.””
Grace felt a chill.
“Of what?””
Vivian looked past her toward the mansion.
Toward where Daniel was holding Leo.
Then she whispered:
“Of believing you’re the only person who knows what happened to that baby.””
Grace’s heart stopped.
“What does that mean?””
Vivian smiled again.
But before she could answer, a loud crash came from inside the mansion.
Someone screamed.
Not Vivian.
Daniel.
“Grace!””
She ran toward the house.
And as she reached the doorway, she saw Daniel standing in the hallway with Leo in his arms.
The baby was crying again.
But Daniel wasn’t looking at his son.
He was staring at something on the floor.
A wet piece of paper.
Grace walked closer.
The paper had fallen out of Leo’s blanket.
And written across the top was a name she had not seen in years.
May you like
Her own.
*GRACE MILLER.*
