Chapter 5 - The Maid's Secret
Emily sat wrapped in my wool jacket inside the heated SUV, drinking hot tea from a travel thermos while the windshield wipers ticked rhythmically.
"How did you know, Emily?" I asked gently, keeping the car idling in the parking lot. "How did you know something was wrong with Zion when nobody else noticed?"
Emily stared out at the rain, her fingers tracing the rim of the cup.
"Before I took this cleaning job, Mr. Whitaker... I worked for four years as a registered pediatric nurse in New Hampshire."
I turned to look at her in utter astonishment. "A nurse? Why were you scrubbing floors in my mansion?"
Emily's jaw tightened with quiet, enduring pain.
"Two years ago, my daughter Lily developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The medical treatments drained every penny of my savings, my retirement, and my home equity."
She wiped away a stray tear with the cuff of my oversized coat.
"She passed away last spring. After the funeral, the hospital sued me for the remaining medical bills. My nursing license was temporarily suspended during the bankruptcy proceedings, and the only agency that would hire me on short notice was a residential cleaning service."
The depth of my cruelty struck me anew, heavy as lead.
She had lost her own child, yet she had looked at mine with enough tenderness to notice what everyone else ignored.
"Yesterday morning, I saw Margaret putting oil on Zion's chest," Emily continued, her voice trembling slightly.
"He was lethargic. His pupils were pinpoint, and his skin had a chemical, synthetic odor that no natural baby lotion ever produces. When Margaret slipped out to take a phone call by the tennis courts, Zion began twitching in his crib."
"You washed the oil off," I murmured, my chest aching.
"I knew the sink was wrong, Mr. Whitaker. But the bathroom on the second floor was locked, and the kitchen sink had running filtered water right there. I stripped his clothes and scrubbed his skin because every second that poison stayed on his body reduced his chance of survival."
She looked at me, her brown eyes clear and devoid of malice despite everything I had put her through.
"I didn't want to replace Margaret. I just wanted a mother's baby to see tomorrow morning."
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I swallowed the massive lump in my throat and reached for her hand.
"Zion isn't just a mother's baby, Emily. He's all I have left in this world. And starting tonight, you will never scrub another floor again."
