Water

A stifling silence fell over the room as the seriousness of Eunice’s words sank in. Christian’s face was filled with concern. His face darted between Olivia and Eunice. Olivia’s heart pounded in her chest, indicating fear running through her body.

“Eunice, honey, are you sure about this?” Olivia asked gently, trying to keep her voice steady. Eunice nodded, her eyes looking into Olivia’s with fear. “I saw someone, Olivia. They were tall.”

Christian’s expression turned serious. “We need to get to the bottom of this. Olivia, can you take Eunice to her room while I check security footage? 

“Sure thing, Mr. Mason”, Olivia nodded as she held Eunice. As they walked to Eunice’s room, Olivia turned to Olivia trying to reassure her, “Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll find out who it was”.

Eunice looked up to Olivia with her big eyes, “Do you think it was a ghost?” Olivia chuckled, “Well, I don’t think ghosts can open doors, but we’ll make sure to check for ghosts too, okay?”

Meanwhile, Christian was reviewing the security footage, his face growing more concerned by the minute. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was not right.

Just then, Olivia entered the room. “Any luck, Mr Mason? “Christian shook his head, “Nothing yet.” But I did find something strange. The camera outside Eunice’s room was broken. It looks like someone deliberately broke it.

Olivia’s eyes widened. “Oh my God! That’s not good. What do we do now?” Christian stood up, “I’ll increase the security measures around the house. And I want you to keep a close eye on Eunice at all times."

Christian immediately called his assistant to arrange some security and within an hour, the house was filled with security personnel farming through the house to search for clues. Christian paced the room, his mind racing. The possibility of someone infiltrating his home was terrifying, especially with Eunice’s safety at risk. He has always believed that he’s taking care of Eunice perfectly, but now he questions himself.

“Olivia”, he called, his voice barely a whisper, “Go back to Eunice. Don’t leave her side. If possible, get her to take a nap again. Olivia nodded, “Okay, sir”.

As hours passed, the search yielded no positive results. Security personnel found no signs of infiltration or forced entry. It seemed as if the intruder was only a paranoid imagination.

“Maybe it was just a dream”, Olivia said gently, trying to calm Eunice down. Eunice shook her head, her eyes wide with fear. “No. I really saw someone”.

Hours passed and the security team left because they could not find anything. “Just keep an eye on the environment for any suspicious movement”, John, Christian’s assistant said to the leader of the security team. The following day came with an ominous quiet that hung heavy in the air. Eunice, clearly still shocked clung onto Olivia as if she were her lifeline. The incident the previous day had left a mark on both of them.

Christian, on the other hand, was more than his usual cold self. He stayed on edge in his office, making phone calls and issuing orders. To distract Eunice, Olivia is planning on taking her for a picnic in the garden, but she needs Christian’s approval. She went straight to Christian’s office before knocking and opening the door.” I would like to take Eunice to the garden for a picnic,” she said quietly.

Christian stared at her in disbelief. “Can’t you see that security is compromised here? Are you trying to put her in danger?” “I’m not trying to put her in danger. She’s very traumatized from yesterday. She’s been clinging to me since yesterday night. She needs to see something to take her mind off things”, she explained patiently, trying to explain herself to the worried uncle. “No ”, Christian said .

Although Christian had told her no but Olivia still felt the little child needs to keep her mind off whatever that had happened yesterday, so she decided to take her out somehow. As if the heavens were truly on her side she over heard Christian on the phone saying he was on his way. Immediately he left she decided to use that opportunity to take her out. The two of them arrived in the garden and started a tea party play. The tea party seemed to lift the child’s spirits and she was soon smiling. However, her eyes were darting around as if someone or something had pounced on her. Olivia noticed this and held her close, hugging her tightly. “There’s nothing there, okay?” Eunice nodded and melted into Olivia’s embrace.

As they continued playing, Olivia subconsciously looked up, only to see some strange glint of light from the upper windows of the mansion. It would be very odd for someone to be there at this time of day. Immediately after seeing this, Olivia took Eunice’s hand. “Let us go back inside. I’ll read you a book in your bedroom or we can go to your toy room and continue our tea party”. The little girl nodded, following her meekly.

It was already nightfall and Eunice was in bed. However, Olivia could not shake off the feeling she got in the afternoon, so she decided to explore the upper floor by herself. She quickly passed Christian’s tightly shut office and went upstairs. She soon arrived at the front of a door.

Driven by curiosity, she turned the doorknob and opened the door. She entered and saw an empty bedroom. Over the bed frame was a big picture. There was a man and a woman in it. The man looked very much like Christian, but with different eye colors and the woman beside him had striking beauty.

“What are you doing here?” A chilling voice boomed behind her, causing her to jump in fear. Olivia turned around to see Christian scowling behind her, his jaws clenched.“Uh… I…” Olivia tried to explain herself but she couldn’t.  

“I see no reason for you to be here. You were hired to be Eunice’s nanny and personal maid. Don’t deceive yourself into thinking you are something else. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir”, Olivia’s quiet voice sounded under Christian’s angry voice. “Very good. Now get out!” He roared. She scurried out without hesitation. Before leaving the room, Christian looked at the picture before him, his eyes turning sad. “I miss you, Matthew”.

“That must be his late brother and sister-in-law”, Olivia thought to herself as she went back to Eunice’s room to check up on her.

The next morning at breakfast, Christian’s dissatisfaction with Olivia from the night before showed. Eunice could not help but ask them, “Neither of you are talking to me this morning." “Huh…” Olivia replied in a daze. “It’s bad manners to talk while eating”, Olivia found an excuse to tell the curious girl.

After breakfast, Olivia just arranged Eunice’s toys for her before leaving for Christian’s office. “Knock-knock”. “Come in”, his voice sounded from inside. Olivia entered and stood in front of him. “What do you need?” he asked seeming impatient. Olivia hesitated before saying, “I don’t know if I should tell you this sir. But in the afternoon, yesterday, during my tea party with Eunice, I saw a shadow move in the upper windows. That was why I went to check.

Christian’s ear peaked as soon as he heard ‘shadow’. “Are you sure about this?” “Yes. I’m sure. But when I went upstairs I couldn’t find anyone around. “You should have reported to me immediately”, Christian said as he picked up his phone. “You can leave.” Before noon, Olivia and Eunice could hear the footsteps of a number of security officers in the mansion.

“Two of them will follow you everywhere you go from now on”, Christian’s voice sounded from the upper floor. Olivia and Eunice seemed very disturbed to have two people behind them all day, but they soon got used to it and carried on with their daily activities. All of a sudden, there were running footsteps around the house. Olivia stood up to go take a look at what was happening outside. Then she saw Christian rushing down the stairs towards one of the empty rooms, so she followed.

“Sir, we found this when we were looking around”, one of the security personnel said, showing a glass closet with some cloth stuck in it.

“Pull it”, Christian commanded. As they pulled the cloth, the glass closet opened into a hidden room. The room had all the things essential for a normal room, clothes and toiletries. There are even signs that the blanket was used recently. “Oh my God!” Olivia’s voice sounded from behind. 

Suddenly, the bell of the mansion rang. “Good morning, Mr. Mason”, the social worker who handed Eunice over to Christian just entered.

“Good afternoon," Christian replied. The social worker looked around and her expression changed with the number of people she saw around. “I’d like to see Miss Mason, please." “Olivia, bring Eunice”, Christian commanded. Olivia quickly brought Eunice out of her room. The social worker looked at Eunice and asked her some questions before jotting something into her notebook. “I trust that she’s in good hands, but I will still come by to check on her again. And if there’s anything you need to be mindful of, we will inform you”, she said before turning to leave.

As the social worker was leaving, they received another visitor. “Hey! Christian!” the man said hugging Christian. “Uncle Josh!” Eunice’s excited voice sounded as she ran up to the man who had just come. “Josh?” ‘Do they have another brother?” Olivia thought to herself.