Night had fallen over the city. The music room was empty, the boxes stacked neatly by the door. Sophie stood in the living room, watching William tape up the final carton.
Guilt was a physical nausea in her stomach. Every time he looked at her with that new softness in his eyes–the look of a man learning to trust again–she felt like a fraud. She was the “Spy Nanny”, paid by the woman who wanted to take his son.
“William,” Sophie started, her voice trembling. “There is something I need to tell you. About when I was hired.”
William looked up, wiping dust from his hands. He smiled, and it broke her heart. “What is it?”
“I… I wasn’t just sent by the agency,” Sophie stepped closer, tears pricking her eyes. “I was in debt. Lady Beatrice, she…”
From down the hall, a high-pitched wail pierced the air.
“Mama! No!”
Leo was screaming.
William’s face shifted instantly from curiosity to parental alarm. “It’s a nightmare,” he said, dropping the tape. He rushed past Sophie toward the nursery.
Sophie stood alone in the silence of the living room. The confession died in her throat. She had missed her chance to tell the truth on her own terms, unaware that the “Unholy Alliance” was already waiting to tell it for her.