Chapter 2: Caretaker Number 88

 

"I have to go back to the company. I'm leaving my brother in your hands."

Liam Sterling stood at the door, looking at Harper with a mixture of hope and pity. He pulled out his phone. "Let's exchange numbers. If anything happens—literally anything—call me."

"Okay," Harper agreed, scanning his QR code.

When the notification popped up, Harper raised an eyebrow. Liam had saved her contact name as: "Caretaker #88 - Harper."

"Eighty-eight?" Harper asked, pointing at the screen. "Does that mean...?"

"Yeah," Liam scratched his head awkwardly. "You're the eighty-eighth. The previous eighty-seven... well, let's just say my brother has a talent for making people quit. The record is ten minutes. You've already lasted longer than Number 42."

Harper chuckled. "Lucky number eighty-eight. Don't worry, I need the money too much to quit."

"Good. Oh, and one more thing—" Liam lowered his voice. "He needs a leg massage every day for thirty minutes to prevent muscle atrophy. He... hates it. But you have to do it."

"Got it."

Liam fled the scene as if escaping a war zone, leaving Harper alone in the silent, massive mansion.

Her first mission: Find the billionaire.

Harper checked the second-floor bedroom. Empty. The study. Empty. The terrace. Empty. She went downstairs. Living room, kitchen, even the bathroom. All empty.

"Where is he?" Harper muttered, standing in the middle of the living room with her hands on her hips.

She glanced up and noticed a tiny red light blinking in the corner of the ceiling. A surveillance camera. Sebastian was watching her.

"So that's how you want to play," Harper smirked.

She turned around and walked into a blind spot, disappearing from the camera's view.

[In the Master Control Room]

Sebastian stared at the screens. The girl had vanished. He frowned, switching camera angles. Kitchen? No. Hallway? No.

"Finally gone?" he scoffed.

He maneuvered his wheelchair out of the control room. He didn't want to stay on the same floor as her. He pressed the button for the elevator to go down to the first floor.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open smoothly. Sebastian prepared to roll out, but he froze.

Leaning against the elevator door frame, arms crossed and smiling brightly, was Harper.

"Found you!" Harper chirped, showing eight perfect white teeth. "Mr. Sterling, it's massage time."

Sebastian’s pale face turned livid. How did she know he would be here?

"No," he spat out the word.

He slammed his hand on the joystick, trying to reverse the wheelchair back into the elevator to escape her. But the wheelchair didn't move. It hummed, but the wheels refused to turn.

"Mr. Sterling," Harper stepped closer, her voice soft but firm, like a devil whispering in his ear. "Let me do my job."

"Let. Go." Sebastian’s voice trembled with suppressed rage.

"Not until you agree."

Sebastian glared at her. "I said, let go!"

He frantically pushed the joystick forward, backward, left, right. The expensive machine was dead weight. It felt like an invisible force was holding him back.

"Why... won't... it... move?" he gritted out.

"Looking for this?"

Harper opened her right hand. Sitting innocently in her palm was a black, rectangular lithium battery block.

Sebastian’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. She... she removed his battery? Without him noticing? She stole his battery!

"Put it back," Sebastian commanded, his knuckles turning white.

"Sure," Harper smiled innocently. "After the massage."

"I said, put it back!"

"Massage first."

Sebastian let out a roar of frustration. He didn't need the motor! He had arms! He grabbed the manual push rims on the wheels. His biceps bulged, veins popping as he used all his strength to force the wheels to turn.

He pushed. Nothing happened.

He pushed harder. Still nothing.

Sebastian looked down, panting. There, pressed firmly against the wheel's locking mechanism, was Harper’s small, dirty sneaker.

She had engaged the manual brake.

She looked up at him, her eyes clear and unafraid. "I checked the manual. Safety first, right?"

Sebastian slumped back in his chair, defeated. He closed his eyes, his chest heaving. Battery gone. Brakes on. He was a billionaire genius, completely checkmated by a girl in sneakers.

"Fine," he hissed through clenched teeth. "You win."

Harper beamed. "Excellent choice!"

She didn't waste a second. She clicked the brake off (but kept the battery), pushed his wheelchair to the sofa area, and squatted down in front of him.

"Don't..." Sebastian flinched as she reached for his pant leg. "It's ugly."

Harper ignored him. She gently rolled up his trouser leg. The scars were exposed to the light. They were jagged, purple and twisted, crawling up his calf like hideous centipedes. It was a map of pain and tragedy on his pale skin.

Sebastian turned his head away, waiting for the gasp. Waiting for the disgust.

But Harper just poured some oil into her hands, warmed it up, and began to knead his stiff muscles.

"Your legs are still strong," she said calmly, her fingers working through the tension. "The 'centipedes' just mean you survived."

Sebastian froze. He looked back at her. She wasn't looking at him with pity. She was focused, professional, and... gentle.

[Meanwhile, inside the Security Room]

Liam, who hadn't actually left, was watching the feed on his phone. Tears were streaming down his face, soaking his shirt.

"Mr. Liam?" his assistant whispered. "The meeting starts in five minutes..."

"Shut up," Liam sobbed, blowing his nose loudly. "Look at that! She's touching him! She didn't run away! My brother... he's finally letting someone take care of him!"

Liam grabbed his assistant's collar. "Give her a bonus! A huge bonus! Send it now!"

[Back in the Living Room]

Thirty minutes later. Harper rolled his pant leg down and wiped her hands. "Done."

She clicked the battery back into the wheelchair. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Sebastian stared at her for a long moment. His dark eyes were unreadable. He didn't say thank you. He just spun his wheelchair around and headed for the elevator.

But just before the doors closed, his phone rang. It was Liam.

"Brother!" Liam's voice chirped. "How was it? Did you fire her? Or... did you change your mind?"

Sebastian looked at Harper, who was waving at him from the hallway.

He scoffed, his voice cold as ice.

"Impossible."

The elevator doors shut.

Harper’s phone buzzed. [Bank Notification: You have received a transfer of $5,000.00 from Liam Sterling.]

Harper kissed her phone screen. "I love this job."