Page 47 of The Nanny Next Door

"Shut the fuck up, Whitney! You're gonna blow this whole thing!" The voice was rough, commanding, and filled with irritation.

"I... I just don't know if I can go through with this, Mark. Jamie is my son. What if Aaron doesn't pay?" The second voice was softer, trembling with fear and uncertainty.

My heart sank. That was it—Whitney. I had heard so much about her from Aaron, but nothing had prepared me for this. Clearly, she was in rough shape if she was desperate enough to kidnap her own son for ransom. And I had no idea how dangerous she could be, but this Mark guy certainly sounded like bad news.

"You're in too deep now," Mark snapped. "We’ve got the fuckin’ nanny. He’ll pay to get them both back."

There was a pause, and then Whitney's voice again, quieter this time. "I didn't want this. I just wanted Jamie back. I didn’t want to hurt anyone."

"You should've thought about that before you told me about your fuckin’ billionaire brother, you stupid bitch," Mark yelled, making me wince. "We’re doing this my way now. Here, go check if she’s awake."

I heard footsteps, the echoey sound of them bouncing around a wide, open space. Whitney's face appeared, pale and drawn, her eyes red-rimmed from crying.

"Whitney," I croaked, my voice barely above a whisper. "Whitney, I’m Lila. I–I’ve been taking care of your little boy."

She looked at me, her expression conflicted. "I can't talk to you," she said, glancing nervously over her shoulder. "Mark will get angry."

"He doesn't have to know," I said softly, trying to keep my voice steady. "Just… come here. Listen to me for a minute. Please."

She hesitated, then stepped closer. "What do you want?"

"Jamie is safe with Aaron," I said, watching her reaction carefully, though she was hard to read. She must have been high on something, from the twitchy movements and bizarre expressions that flickered across her face. "He's… he’s happy. He’s got stability, and plenty of toys, and he’s so, so sweet. You don’t want to put him through this.”

“He’s my son!” Whitney whisper-shouted, and I jumped from the harshness of the hiss. “He belongs with me!”

“You left him with Aaron for a reason,” I reminded her. “And I know you must miss him. He misses you, too. But this… this isn't the way to get him back."

Tears welled up in her eyes. "You don't understand."

"You can fix this, Whitney. Just… just call the police,” I implored her. “If you get caught doing this, you could lose him forever."

She bit her lip, the conflict clear on her face.

"Help me," I urged. "Help Jamie. You can’t let us just rot in here."

Before I could say anything else, the door burst open, and Mark stormed in. "What are you doing?" he barked at Whitney. "I told you not to talk to her!"

Whitney flinched, stepping back. "I–I was just ch–checking on her," she stammered.

"Get the fuck out," he growled. "Now."

Whitney cast me one last, desperate look before hurrying out of the room, and for the first time in my life, my optimism failed me, my brain whirring with anxious questions and a feeling of deep dread. Was someone out there looking for me? Would they find me before this strung-out scumbag did something drastic? And where on earth were they keeping poor, innocent Jamie?

34

FELIPE

There I was, waiting in a police station, over a billion dollars at my disposal, and yet I had never felt so helpless in my life. Sitting in a stiff plastic chair, I stared at the scuffed linoleum floor, my mind racing with worry.

The building buzzed with activity—phones ringing, officers talking in hushed tones, the occasional outburst from some usual suspect being brought in on a minor charge. But all the noise was a blur, muted by the pounding of my heart and the incessant whirl of my heart threatening to break.

Lila had to be okay. She just had to be.

I glanced over at Aaron and Miles, both of them looking just as tense and restless as I felt. Aaron's jaw was set, his eyes hard with determination. Miles paced back and forth, his hands running through his usually-neat hair in agitation. I’d never seen the latter so discomposed before, and under better circumstances, I would welcome the change. But right now, it only further stressed me out to see Miles visibly frazzled. We had been waiting for what felt like hours, and the lack of news was driving us all to the brink of insanity.

Of the three of us, stone-faced Aaron had taken charge when it came to dealing with the cops. Jamie was his nephew, after all, and his sister was suspected to be involved in the kidnapping scheme. But something about the few years of age he had on me also made him feel like the right person to be in charge here. I trusted him far more than the police, anyway.

At some point in the timeless wasteland, Aaron left the room to ask for an update, leaving Miles and me to stew alone. When he came back into the room, I leapt to my feet.

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