Not Your Nanny Anymore

ler opene

care facility, not with the dull ac

h familiar silk curtains. Her bedro

ind a horrifying, crystal-clear rep

y, their faces blurred with indifference, then overlaid with Chloe Vance' s triumphant

. Now. Age thirt

e was already

nely end – they weren't memories. They were a warning. A fu

d chance. She wo

he tech billionaire, had loo

fe, two beautiful children, a

ning their perfect world, her

vatech Solutions, was work-o

or Chloe, his college swee

t even then, the cracks were showing. C

tting through the lingering horr

e, her hand steady despi

Ethan. She cal

but firm. "I need you to draw up di

he other end. "Sarah?

ut to be," she rep

Chloe

chic SoHo café, a place Chloe

feigned apologies and

ho, in that other timeline, ha

er voice even, "I have

ectly sculpted eyeb

rd slightly, "and the kids, say, preferred you.

ond, then returned, wider, more predat

, no tremor in her voice. "He, and

he intrigue in her eyes was unmistakable,

e finally managed, her

simply

y racing, assessing the

picion lacing her tone.

her soul, from the future she'd escaped. "He was never really mine

a fight for a man who didn' t love her an

ding across her face. "Well, Sarah. If you' re s

e cold care facility a steel rod in her spi

he glanced at it, then her eyes flicke

her voice instantly saccharine. "Ethan, darling! Oh,

th. Ethan, always too busy for her calls

minutes. He alwa

utes later, his brow furrowed with concern for Chloe. He looked handsom

rah a glance initially,

's wrong? Ar

t a playdate Sarah had meticulously arranged, appeared with Etha

e missed you!"

picked them up early, br

s," he said to Chloe, opening it to reveal artisanal pastries from that spec

anything. Not her birthday last year, not the flowers she love

ted visits, his quick agreement with Chloe that a ca

Ethan, holding up a sheaf of papers her lawyer had couriered to the café at Sarah's instruction. The

uasive. "Could you just sign this for me? It' s for a

the documents. Details were Sarah' s domain. H

re?" EJ asked, looking up at Ethan with wid

pening again, or rather, it was sta

splacement, and felt an overwhelming sadness, b

ietly. No one protested. N

é, leaving them to their

dious takeover, the children' s growing alienation, her diagnos

t her own essential personal belongings, items of sentimental value to her.

master suite, from the family spaces. She threw

ing, surrounded by her packed bags. EJ and Lily w

d, his tone already laced with annoyance

ng us?" Lily asked, h

hloe live here! She' s more fun anyway!" he declared,

ive. "Don' t be dramatic, Sarah. Whatever this

e pain was a dull echo now, overlaid by a chilling resolve

t her children, their faces

r voice surprisingly

ther, their wife, their caret

r boxes into the large walk-in closet th