Chapter 8: Secrets in the Walls
2175 Words
The honeymoon was supposed to change everything.
That’s what the books say. That’s what the movies show. Two people go away, they come back new, and all the problems are gone.
We came back 3 days ago. And nothing changed.
Damian still leaves for his office at 6AM. He still comes home at 9PM. He still kisses my forehead like I’m glass and might break.
And he still sleeps in the guest room.
The twins didn’t notice. They were just happy we were home. Lily ran to me and didn’t let go for 10 minutes. Max asked if I brought him the wooden car I promised.
But I noticed.
Every night I lie in our bed alone and listen to the house. The big, expensive, empty house.
Tonight I couldn’t sleep again.
It’s 2:17 AM. I checked.
My mouth was dry so I went downstairs for water. The marble floors were cold under my feet. The house was too quiet. The kind of quiet that makes you hear your own thoughts too loud.
That’s when I saw it.
Light. Under Damian’s office door.
He said he had a meeting with investors in Singapore. He said he’d be asleep by 11.
I should’ve turned around. I should’ve gone back upstairs and pretended I didn’t see it.
But 5 years ago I trusted him. And he let me go without a fight.
So my hand reached for the doorknob before my brain could stop it.
His voice came through the door before I could open it.
“She’s asking questions,” Damian said. Low. Tired. “No, she doesn’t know about the contract. And she can’t find out.”
The word hit me like ice water.
Contract.
My hand froze on the knob.
“I know I promised you I’d send her away after a year,” he continued. “But the kids love her. And it’s complicated now.”
Complicated.
That was the same word he used 5 years ago. The last night I worked here. The night he handed me an envelope and told me it was better this way.
Better for who, Damian?
Footsteps. Close to the door.
I jerked my hand back and ran. Bare feet on marble. Heart in my throat. I made it to the stairs just as his office door clicked shut.
I didn’t breathe until I was under the covers in my room.
Contract. Promise. Send her away.
What did he mean?
I didn’t sleep for the rest of the night.
---
The next morning I smiled at breakfast like nothing was wrong.
“Pancakes,” Lily cheered. “You make the best pancakes, Miss Elena.”
“Thank you, baby,” I said and ruffled her hair.
Damian was already dressed. Suit. Tie. Phone in his hand. He looked up when I came in and his expression softened for half a second.
“Morning,” he said.
“Morning,” I answered.
That was it. Two words.
After the kids left for school with the driver, the house felt even bigger.
I told Mrs. Hale, the housekeeper, I was going to town to get groceries. It was a lie. I needed to get out. I needed air that didn’t smell like secrets.
I drove without thinking and ended up in front of the old Cole Industries building downtown. The one Damian’s father built 30 years ago. The one that’s been empty since the scandal last year.
There was a box in the alley.
I almost didn’t stop. But something made me pull over.
The box was cardboard. Plain. And on the top, written in black marker:
ELENA CARTER
My name.
My hands were shaking when I lifted the flaps.
Inside: photos. Me with the twins when they were 3. Me asleep on the couch in the nursery. Me and Damian at the company Christmas party 5 years ago.
And papers.
A contract. Dated June 14th, 5 years ago.
`NANNY EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT`
`Between: Damian Cole`
`And: Elena Carter`
My eyes skimmed down.
`1. Employment term: 12 months`
`2. Upon completion, Employee will vacate premises and receive severance of $50,000`
`3. Employee agrees to NDA regarding all family and business matters`
$50,000.
He paid me to leave.
No. That couldn’t be right. Damian wouldn’t do that.
But his signature was at the bottom. Clear and sharp.
Under the contract was another paper. Handwritten.
`She can’t know. If she finds out, we lose everything. Burn this.`
Damian’s handwriting. I’d know it anywhere. He used to leave me notes on the fridge for the twins.
Burn this.
Someone didn’t. Someone put it in a box and left it for me.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
Unknown Number: `Check your email, Elena. You deserve the truth.`
I almost threw the phone.
But I opened my email instead.
One new message. No subject. No sender name. Just an attachment.
`security_footage_5yearsago.mp4`
I pressed play with trembling fingers.
The screen showed the nursery. 5 years ago. The furniture was different. The paint was lighter.
And there I was. 22 years old. Asleep in the rocking chair. The twins were in their cribs.
The door opened.
Damian walked in. He was in sweatpants and a t-shirt. He looked younger. Tired.
He stood by my chair for a long time. Just watching me.
Then he bent down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
I stirred. “Damian?” My voice was sleepy on the recording. “What are you doing?”
He pulled back like he got caught. “You were crying in your sleep. I heard you.”
I rubbed my eyes. “The twins okay?”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “Go back to sleep, Elena.”
The video ended.
My chest hurt. I remembered that night. I’d had a nightmare about my mom.
Another buzz.
Unknown Number: `Last file. Then you’ll understand why you have to leave.`
`contract_addendum.pdf`
I opened it.
`ADDENDUM TO EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT`
`If a romantic relationship develops between Employer and Employee, Clause 2 is null and void.`
`Employer agrees to provide lifelong financial support to Employee and any resulting children.`
Resulting children.
The words blurred.
I never told him. I found out I was pregnant 2 weeks after he fired me. I lost the baby at 11 weeks. Alone. In a clinic.
And he knew.
The car door opened.
“Elena.”
I screamed.
Damian stood there. In the alley. In his suit. Looking at the box in my lap like it was a bomb.
“How did you find me?” I whispered.
“Your car’s tracker,” he said. “I’ve been worried since you left without telling anyone.”
“Worried?” I laughed and it sounded broken. “You should be worried. Look at this.”
I held up the contract.
His face went pale. “Where did you get that?”
“Someone left it for me. With my name on it. Was this you?”
He took a step back. “No.”
“Liar!” The word came out louder than I meant. “Your signature is right there, Damian!”
“It’s not mine,” he said. “That’s my mother’s forgery. She did it the day after I fired you.”
I stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
He ran a hand through his hair. He looked exhausted. “Can we go somewhere and talk? Please. Not here.”
I should’ve said no. I should’ve driven away.
But I got in his car.
---
We didn’t go home. We went to a small coffee shop 20 minutes out of town. Empty. Private.
He ordered nothing. I couldn’t drink.
“For 5 years I’ve been trying to tell you,” he started. “And every time I opened my mouth, something stopped me.”
“Like what?”
“My mother,” he said. “Victoria Cole. She found out about us. About the kiss. About how I felt about you.”
I remembered. One kiss. In the kitchen. After the twins’ birthday party. It meant nothing and everything.
“She told me if I didn’t let you go, she’d take the kids,” Damian said. “Full custody. She had lawyers. She had money. She said she’d tell the court you were unstable. That you seduced me.”
“That’s not true.”
“I know,” he said. “But the judge was her friend. And I was 35 and scared. So I signed the paper she put in front of me. The severance. The NDA. I told myself it was to protect you.”
“Bullshit,” I said. “You could’ve fought.”
“I did,” he said. “After. I bought her shares. I kicked her off the board. I spent 5 years making sure she could never hurt the kids again. And then I brought you back.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was a coward,” he said. “Because every time I looked at you I saw what I did to you. And I didn’t deserve you.”
We sat in silence. The coffee went cold.
“Who sent me this?” I asked finally.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I have an idea.”
His phone rang. He looked at the screen and cursed.
“Who is it?”
“Her,” he said.
He answered and put it on speaker.
“Damian,” Victoria Cole’s voice was smooth and sharp like a knife. “I see Elena found my little gift. Good.”
My blood went cold.
“What do you want, Mother,” Damian said.
“What I’ve always wanted,” she said. “For you to do the right thing. Fire her. Again. Or I go to every news outlet in the state with the story. Billionaire sleeps with the nanny. Gets her pregnant. Pays her off. And then brings her back into the house with his children. Think of the headlines.”
Damian stood up. “Don’t you dare mention the baby.”
“Oh, I will,” she said. “The miscarriage. The depression. The clinic records. I have everything, Damian. You have 24 hours to send her away. Or I destroy you both.”
The line went dead.
Silence.
“She can’t do that,” I whispered.
“She can,” Damian said. “And she will.”
“What do we do?”
He looked at me. Really looked at me. For the first time in days.
“We fight,” he said. “Together. Like we should’ve 5 years ago.”
He reached across the table and took my hand. His was warm. Mine was ice.
“I’m sorry, Elena,” he said. “For all of it. For being weak. For lying. For not choosing you sooner.”
I pulled my hand away. “Words are easy, Damian.”
“I know,” he said. “So let me show you.”
---
We went home. The twins were back from school.
Damian gathered everyone in the living room. Me. The kids. Mrs. Hale. The security team.
“This is Elena,” he said to the room. “She is not the nanny anymore. She is my partner. And as of today, she is the co-guardian of Lily and Max.”
Mrs. Hale gasped. The security guard blinked.
Lily looked confused. “What does co-guardian mean, Daddy?”
“It means Miss Elena gets to make decisions for you too,” Damian said. “And she’s not going anywhere.”
Max grinned. “Does that mean you live here forever?”
I knelt down. “If you want me to, yes.”
“Yeah!” Both kids hugged me.
Damian watched us. And for a second, the wall between us was gone.
After the kids went to bed, he walked me to my room.
“The lawyer is filing papers tomorrow,” he said. “Custody, guardianship, everything. My mother won’t be able to touch us.”
“And if she goes to the press?”
“Then we tell the truth first,” he said. “That I was stupid 5 years ago. That I love you. That I’m not letting anyone hurt you again.”
Love.
He said it.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. Not yet.
“Get some sleep,” he said. “We have a long day tomorrow.”
He turned to leave.
“Damian,” I called.
He stopped.
“Thank you,” I said. “For choosing me. Finally.”
He nodded once and walked away.
I closed the door and leaned against it.
24 hours.
We had 24 hours before Victoria Cole tried to tear us apart again.
And for the first time in 5 years, I believed we might actually win.
But as I got into bed, my phone lit up one more time.
Unknown Number: `You think it’s over? It’s just starting. Check the basement.`
End of Chapter 8
- Writer
