After three years of caring for little Olivia Grant, Emily never imagined she would be dismissed so suddenly. No warning. No explanation. Just a cold instruction from billionaire businessman Daniel Grant telling her to pack her things and leave the estate immediately.
She tried to stay composed as she gathered her belongings, but tears kept slipping down her cheeks. No one in the mansion seemed to understand what had happened.
And then Olivia leaned toward her father and whispered something that would shake him completely.
What the little girl revealed left Daniel standing there in stunned silence.
Twenty Steps to Goodbye
Emily walked slowly down the wide stone terrace, staring at the ground as if counting her steps could keep her emotions from spilling over.
Twenty steps to the iron gate.
Twenty steps to leave behind three years of her life.
The evening sun over Santa Barbara washed the mansion walls in soft golden light. It was always her favorite time of day. She remembered sitting with Olivia in the girl’s bedroom, watching the sunset stream through the curtains while they made shadow animals on the ceiling—birds, butterflies, stars.
Emily didn’t dare look back.