My son and his wife asked me to watch their two-month-old baby while they went shopping. – tamy

Then she said something else.

Something that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

“It wasn’t that dark yesterday.”

The room suddenly felt very cold.

“Wait,” I said slowly.

“If the bruise got worse today…”

Then a terrifying thought hit me.

“Who else was alone with Noah today… before I got there?”

There was a long silence on the phone.

And when Megan finally answered…

Her voice was barely audible.

“…the nanny.”

“…the nanny.”

The word hung in the air between us.

My heart skipped.

“You hired a nanny?” I asked slowly.

Daniel came back on the phone.

“Just part-time,” he said quickly. “Only for a few hours in the mornings so Megan can rest.”

“When did this start?”

“About two weeks ago.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to steady my breathing.

“And today?” I asked. “Was she with Noah before I arrived?”

Daniel hesitated.

“Yes,” he admitted.

My stomach tightened.

“How long?”

“About an hour. Megan had a doctor’s appointment.”

I felt a chill crawl up my spine.

“Daniel,” I said carefully, “did you notice anything strange about her?”

“No,” he said immediately. “She seemed great. Calm, professional. She had excellent references.”

“What’s her name?”

“Laura.”

Just then the hospital room door opened and Dr. Patel stepped inside.

“We’ve stabilized Noah,” he said gently. “He’s resting now.”

Relief washed over me, but it lasted only a moment.

“There’s something else we found,” he continued.

My chest tightened again.

“What?”

He handed me a printed scan image.

“Take a look here.”