Naomi Reed pressed her palm against the cool wooden nursery door. Even at this hour, her dark uniform was immaculate, the white apron tied tight at her waist. She inhaled slowly before turning the handle.
At twenty-eight, Naomi had seen hardship before. She’d worked in the house barely half a year, yet the last few weeks felt endless. The cries coming from the nursery weren’t normal. They weren’t the restless sounds of a fussy newborn. They were raw. Panicked. As if something was deeply wrong.
“Naomi!”
Eleanor Caldwell’s voice cut through the hallway. The billionaire’s wife stood at the top of the stairs, wrapped in a silk robe, exhaustion etched into her sharp features.
“Why is he still screaming? This should’ve been handled already.”
Naomi lowered her eyes but kept her voice steady. “Mrs. Caldwell, I’ve tried everything. He won’t settle.”
“I don’t pay you to try,” Eleanor snapped. “I pay you to fix it.”
The chandelier’s light glinted off her diamond earrings as she turned away.
“My husband has a board meeting in four hours. Make it stop.”
Then she was gone, leaving Naomi alone with the cries.