Anna’s POVThe door creaked open softly causing me to look up, and when I did, Rissa stood there… her lips curved into a small smile. It wasn’t her usual bright one, though. This one was faint, tired, forced.Still, I smiled back. “Hey, You’re back!” I said, relief in my voice.She nodded and stepped into the room. But my eyes quickly darted behind her. No one followed. My heart tightened. “Where’s Nanny Flora?” I asked.The question stopped her in her tracks. The smile on her face fell apart instantly. She hesitated for a moment, then walked over and sank into the chair beside my bed. Her silence said everything.“Rissa? Did you hear me?” I whispered, the unease rising in my throat. “Where’s Nanny Flora?”She still didn’t answer.That silence… it was worse than words. It made the room feel colder. I adjusted myself on the bed, my hands gripping the blanket. “Did she go home? Would she be returning soon?…”But the door burst open before I could continue.Two nurses entered, pushing a
Rissa’s POV The door slammed shut behind them. For a moment, I couldn’t move. My mother’s hand had been gripping Nanny Flora’s wrist so tightly, dragging her out of the room as though afraid her words might poison the air if she stayed a second longer. If she was this afraid, that means she was as guilty as can ever be. The silence that followed was heavy, stifling. I looked at Anna for a moment, she sat upright on her bed, her eyes wide, face pale. The faint hum of the hospital machines filled the void between us. I swallowed hard, my voice shaky. “You heard that, right? Anna…tell me you just heard Nanny Flora calling my mum Little Sister.” Anna’s lips parted, but no sound came out. She just nodded weakly, her expression still clouded with disbelief. “Oh.. This has to be a joke…” I whispered, pacing a step, my fingers tangling in my hair. “It just has to be.” I laughed but it came out as a short, humorless sound. “I mean… Nanny Flora has always been our nanny. Sure, Mum gave
Mrs. Quinn’s POV“Little… sister?”The sound of that word cracked through the air like lightning.I froze. My heart thudded once… hard.. against my ribs. Annalyn sat up in bed, staring at the two of us, her expression a mixture of shock and disbelief. For a second, I couldn’t breathe. I’d spent thirty-five years burying this secret.. burying the fact that Flora is my Elder Sister, locking it in a place no one could reach. But now.. just like that… it was out.And before I could even think of what to say next, another voice sliced through the tension.“Little sister?”We all turned at once.My daughter, Rissa stood at the doorway, eyes wide, her face pale as if she’d seen a ghost. My stomach dropped. Oh God. No. Not now!“Mum,” she said slowly, stepping into the room. “Did I just hear Nanny Flora call you little sister? Is she by any chance your sister?”Flora’s chin lifted, her voice steady. “Yes.”“No,” I snapped at the same time, my voice sharp and trembling. The contradiction hun
Annalyn’s POVThe doctor’s roar hit me like a thunderclap.“STOP!”My heart jumped into my throat. I sat up sharply, my pulse hammering in my ears as my eyes darted across the room. The nurse froze beside my IV, a syringe still clutched in her hand. For a moment, no one moved… not her, not me, not even the air.Then I saw them.Nanny Flora stood at the door, panting hard, her hand pressed to her chest, and beside her was the doctor… face pale, eyes blazing with alarm.“Doctor?” My voice came out shaky, weak. “What’s going on?”He didn’t answer me. Instead, he turned to the nurse. “What is that thing you’re administering to Miss Smith?”The nurse stumbled back, trembling so violently that the syringe nearly slipped from her fingers. “I—I…” she stuttered, her lips quivering. Her eyes darted toward the door as if looking for a way out.The doctor didn’t wait for her to speak. He reached for the folder lying at the foot of my bed and flipped through it fast, his frown deepening with every
Nanny Flora’s POVThe door burst open before the doctor could even look up.“Doctor! You have to help… please… you have to help her!”My voice came out too high, too shaky. I didn’t care.The doctor flinched, his pen falling from his hand. “Ma’am? What’s wrong? Who needs help?”“Annalyn,” I gasped, gripping the edge of his desk for balance. “Her life is in danger!”He frowned, confused, standing halfway. “What do you mean? What happened? How is she in danger?”I opened my mouth, but my words tangled with panic. There wasn’t time to explain.Not properly. Not now.And yet the images came flooding back… the ones that had sent me running through these halls.****Flashback****I walk into the hospital wearing my usual warm smile, my heart beating from worry and anxiety. Alex had called earlier, his voice trembling even as he tried to sound calm.“Nanny, please come to the hospital. Stay with Anna, she's pregnant and I'm going into surgery soon with my son. I can’t rest knowing she’s alone
Mrs. Quinn’s POVThe door slammed. Good. Let it slam. Let her feel it shake through her bones.How dare she? How dare she speak to me that way… me, of all people. That insolent, ungrateful girl. That pathetic little gold-digger who thinks carrying my son’s child gives her power.I can still hear her voice… sharp, trembling, trying to sound brave. It’s laughable. A nobody with a mouth too big for her place.I raised a son every woman in this city wanted. I built him. I carried him through the best schools, the best circles, and made him the man into he is today. And this… this thing dares to challenge me?No. No, she doesn’t get to talk back. She doesn’t get to raise her tone, not in my presence.My fingers ache from how hard I’m clutching this bag. My pulse won’t slow down. Every step I take back and forth echoes too loud, too fast. Passersby look… let them. Let them see what fury looks like when it’s dressed in pearls.They don’t know what it’s like to watch everything you built be t