THE BILLIONAIRE'S DAUGHTER WAS CALLED A MONSTER—UNTIL HER NEW NANNY DISCOVERED WHAT WAS HIDDEN BEHIND THE BLUE DOOR

She sounded exhausted.

When Lena arranged a phone call with her later that afternoon, Asha spoke quietly and carefully, pausing often to make sure we understood her.

"I worked for the Duca family for eleven days," she explained.

"I was supposed to be a temporary nanny while another caregiver was on vacation."

I sat beside Lena, taking notes.

Matteo listened from across the table.

Asha continued.

"At first, everything seemed normal. Beautiful apartment. Excellent salary. A difficult little girl who had recently lost her mother."

Her voice trembled.

"Then I met Celeste."

"What happened?" Lena asked.

"She told me not to hold Leah when she cried. She said Leah had learned to manipulate adults through affection."

I closed my eyes.

The words sounded almost identical to what Evelyn had described.

Asha continued.

"One afternoon, Leah found a photograph of her mother and started crying. I sat beside her and let her hold the picture."

"What happened next?"

"Celeste walked in and told me I was undermining the treatment plan."

Matteo leaned forward.

"Did she take the photograph away?"

"Yes."

Asha hesitated.

"Then she punished Leah for crying."

Matteo's face tightened.

"How?"

"She took her into the blue room."

A long silence followed.

Lena asked gently, "What did you do?"

"I followed them. I told Celeste I didn't think it was appropriate."

"What did she say?"

"That my opinion wasn't required."

Asha drew a shaky breath.

"Then she shut the door."

I gripped my pen.

"Was Leah inside?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"I could hear her crying."

Asha began to sob.

"I knocked. Celeste told me to leave. I said I would call Mr. Duca."

Matteo lowered his head.

"She laughed at me."

The room went silent.

Asha continued.

"She said Mr. Duca had approved the entire program. She told me that if I cared about my job, I would stop interfering."

I swallowed.

"Did you leave?"

"Not immediately."

There was a long pause.

"I waited until Celeste walked away. Then I tried the handle."

Her voice broke.

"The door wouldn't open."

I remembered the lock mounted outside the room.

The tiny scratches in the paint.

Leah spelling her name.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I called building security."

Matteo looked up.

Gabriel's expression changed.

Asha continued.

"A man came upstairs. His name was Luis."

Gabriel closed his eyes.

"He said everything was authorized."

I felt anger spreading through my chest.

"What happened after that?"

"Celeste came back and opened the door. Leah ran toward me."

Asha began crying again.

"She grabbed my shirt and wouldn't let go."

Matteo stared at the table.

"I told Celeste I was reporting her."

"What did she say?" Lena asked.

"She told me to think carefully before destroying my career."

Asha paused.

"That evening, Marianne called."

Matteo's expression hardened.

"What did my sister say?"

Asha's voice became quieter.

"She offered me thirty thousand dollars to sign a statement saying Leah was violent and that her father was emotionally unstable."

I looked at Lena.

She was writing quickly.

"Did you accept?"

"No."

"What happened afterward?"

"My agency canceled my assignments. Two families I'd worked for refused to provide references. I started getting messages saying I should leave New York."

My stomach tightened.

"Did you report the threats?"

"Yes."

"What happened?"

"I made a police report, but I didn't have enough evidence to show who was behind them. My lawyer told me not to contact the Duca family directly."

She inhaled shakily.

"Then my apartment was broken into."

Matteo stood.

"What?"

"Nothing valuable was stolen. But my laptop was gone."

She paused.

"That's where I'd stored the videos."

I stared at the phone.

"Then how did you send us the recordings?"

Asha gave a small, bitter laugh.

"Because my father taught me to make backups."

She explained that she had copied the original files onto a second device before the break-in.

She had kept it hidden.

After seeing the leaked video of Leah, she decided she could no longer remain silent.

"I saw those people calling her a monster," she whispered.

Her voice broke.

"And I kept thinking about how she held onto my shirt."

I wiped my eyes.

Asha continued.

"She wasn't trying to hurt anyone. She was trying to keep someone from leaving her alone."

The sentence settled over the room.

Then Asha said something none of us expected.

"There's another reason I contacted you."

Lena leaned forward.

"What reason?"

"Celeste told me once that Leah wasn't the first child they'd treated."

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"She said they'd developed the program with other wealthy families."

Matteo's expression changed.

"Other children?"

"Yes."

The room became silent.

Asha continued.

"I remember the name of one organization. I looked it up after I left."

"What organization?" Lena asked.

"Bright Harbor Family Services."

My heart began pounding.

Asha swallowed.

"I found a former employee who said she had concerns about children being isolated during treatment sessions."

"Where is she now?"

"She doesn't want to be identified yet."

"Can your lawyer help us make contact safely?"

"I think so."

Lena nodded.

"We can arrange that through counsel and the investigators."

After the call ended, nobody spoke for a long time.

Finally, Matteo turned toward Gabriel.

"How many families received services through Bright Harbor?"

Gabriel looked grim.

"We don't know."

Matteo stared at the family foundation's financial records.

"Then find out."

Lena immediately corrected him.

"Through proper channels. We can request our foundation records and provide what we have to investigators. We should not interfere with anyone else's private information."

He nodded.

"Whatever it takes."

I thought about Leah sleeping beneath her yellow blanket.

About the families who might have believed they were helping their children.

About caregivers who had been threatened into silence.

And about Asha Rahman, who had kept the truth hidden on a small device because nobody powerful had wanted to hear it.

The following evening, Gabriel received a message from the investigators.

They had located Luis Mercer.

He had agreed to come in for questioning.

But before his interview could take place, he made one request.

He wanted to speak to Matteo.

Alone.