Chapter 2

Clara's POV

The next morning, I requested time off work.

Once my mother took Leo down to play in the garden, I locked the front door and started a video call with Julian.

"I can't leave any trace behind after I go."

I flattened a blank sheet of paper on the table. "And Leo has to come with me."

Julian nodded through the screen. "I'll handle your foreign employment visas and legal sponsorships. Put together a checklist of all the domestic documents you need to finalize and send it my way."

After hanging up, I took a pen and began listing out the tasks.

Passports, notarizations, residency cancellations, immunization records—thirty-nine items in total.

I taped the list to the side of the refrigerator. Every time I completed a task, I would cross it off.

Just as I taped it up, Vincent called.

I answered and put him on speaker.

"I booked a trip to Hawaii for you and Leo. You leave this Saturday for two weeks."

Vincent spoke rapidly on the other end. "The company has too many projects going on right now, so I won't be able to join. Just let me know if you run low on cash."

Clutching the phone, I gave him a one-word answer. "Okay."

After hanging up, I walked into the living room.

Leo was sitting on the play mat building with Lego blocks.

I crouched down and stroked my son's head. "Leo, would you like to move somewhere really far away with Mommy?"

Leo snapped two blocks together and looked up at me. "Wherever Mommy goes, I go."

I pulled him into a hug, offering no further explanation.

That afternoon, I went to the office to submit my resignation.

I gave an excuse: "My mother isn't doing well physically. She needs full-time care, so I have to go back and look after her."

My supervisor frowned, trying to persuade me to stay. "You're exceptionally talented, and we have three high-level summits scheduled for next week. Could you at least finish those before leaving?"

I agreed.

Taking on three more interpretation assignments meant earning thousands more in appearance fees, which would guarantee financial stability once we landed abroad.

Right as I stepped out of the office building, my phone rang. It was the preschool.

The teacher sounded frantic. "Ms. Campbell, Leo developed acute gastroenteritis this afternoon! He's running a dangerously high fever and was rushed to the ER. Please come right away!"

I flagged down a taxi.

During the ride, I dialed my mother's number three times in a row, but no one answered.

When I rushed into the hospital's IV room, Leo had a needle taped to the back of his tiny hand, his face burning bright red.

I sat on the edge of the bed and touched his scorching forehead.

Leo cracked his eyes half-open and whispered, "Mommy... I want Grandma."

I stroked his hair. "Grandma will be here soon, baby."

Leo sniffled softly. "Grandma went to work at a pretty lady's house. Daddy found her the job. Grandma said when she's done, she'll buy me Legos."

My hand froze in midair.

The phone in my pocket began to vibrate; my mother was calling back.

She was panting on the other end. "Clara, I was working just now and left my phone on the counter, so I didn't hear it ring. What's wrong?"

I stared at the IV drip chamber. "Mom, whose house are you cleaning?"

My mother paused, then lowered her voice. "Vincent set it up for me. Over in the luxury estates on the east side of town. It's only two hours a day, and the pay is more than half of what I used to make in a month back home. Vincent said he was worried I'd feel useless sitting around the city, so he specifically picked out something light."

My knuckles turned white around the phone.

I listened as my mother went on and on about how good Vincent was to her.

Those luxury estates on the east side were the Pierce family's private grounds.

Vincent had sent my mother to scrub his legitimate wife's floors, while my mom genuinely believed he was a saint.