PART 2: THE NANNY BROKE THE CAST
The next morning, the Whitmore mansion felt unusually tense.
Caleb barely spoke during breakfast.
His eyes remained fixed on the white cast wrapped around his arm.
Every few minutes he would whisper the same words.
“Please take it off.”
Across the table, Victoria forced a smile.
“It will be off soon, sweetheart.”
Caleb immediately lowered his head.
Maya noticed.
The boy looked terrified whenever his stepmother spoke.
Not angry.
Not resentful.
Terrified.
And that frightened Maya more than anything.
The appointment was scheduled for noon.
At ten-thirty Ethan received an urgent call from one of his business partners.
A major development project had run into legal trouble.
He reluctantly left the mansion.
“I'll meet you all at the hospital.”
Victoria offered to drive Caleb.
But before she could take him, Maya intervened.
“I'll take him.”
Victoria's smile tightened.
“I can handle it.”
“Caleb feels more comfortable with me.”
For a moment the two women stared at each other.
Then Victoria nodded.
“Of course.”
Yet something in her eyes looked dangerous.
Like a predator whose prey was slipping away.
Half an hour later Maya helped Caleb into the SUV.
The boy looked pale.
His breathing was shallow.
As they pulled away from the mansion, he suddenly grabbed her hand.
“Maya?”
“Yes?”
“Please don't let her know.”
“Know what?”
His voice dropped to a whisper.
“What's inside the cast.”
Maya nearly slammed on the brakes.
“What do you mean?”
Caleb looked toward the window.
“I don't know exactly.”
“But I can feel it.”
A chill crawled down her spine.
“Feel what?”
“Something sharp.”
The nanny's hands tightened on the steering wheel.
“What do you mean sharp?”
“Like needles.”
Maya's heart began pounding.
Needles?
Inside the cast?
That was impossible.
Wasn't it?
Instead of driving directly to the hospital, Maya made a decision.
A risky one.
A decision that would change everything.
She turned into the parking lot of a small urgent-care clinic.
“Maya?”
“I need to check something.”
Five minutes later she found a physician she trusted.
Dr. Harrison.
A retired orthopedic specialist.
He listened carefully as Maya explained her concerns.
Then he frowned.
“This sounds very unusual.”
“I know.”
“But can you at least examine the cast?”
The doctor hesitated.
Finally he nodded.
“Bring the boy inside.”
Twenty minutes later Caleb sat nervously on an examination table.
Dr. Harrison carefully inspected the cast.
Everything looked normal.
Until he pressed one particular section near Caleb's elbow.
The boy screamed.
A bloodcurdling scream.
“STOP!”
Dr. Harrison jerked back.
His face turned pale.
“That shouldn't happen.”
“What is it?” Maya asked.
The doctor slowly ran his fingers along the cast.
Then he frowned.
“There are irregularities.”
“What kind?”
He tapped the side.
A strange metallic sound echoed.
The room fell silent.
Maya stared.
Metal?
Inside a medical cast?
Impossible.
Yet they had all heard it.
Dr. Harrison looked disturbed.
“I'm removing this immediately.”
The saw began humming.
Caleb squeezed Maya's hand.
His entire body trembled.
Piece by piece, the cast was cut away.
The outer shell fell apart.
Then the padding underneath became visible.
Dr. Harrison carefully peeled it back.
And froze.
Maya stopped breathing.
“What is it?”
The doctor didn't answer.
His face had gone completely white.
“What is it?” Maya repeated.
Slowly he stepped aside.
Maya looked down.
And nearly screamed.
Hidden beneath layers of medical padding were dozens of tiny metal tacks.
Sharp.
Rusty.
Cruel.
Some had already punctured Caleb's skin.
Others were embedded so deeply they had created infected wounds.
There was dried blood everywhere.
The entire arm looked swollen and inflamed.
“Oh my God…”
Maya covered her mouth.
Caleb burst into tears.
“I told them it hurt.”
The room spun around her.
Someone had hidden metal tacks inside an eight-year-old boy's cast.
Someone had turned a healing injury into six weeks of torture.
Someone had done it deliberately.
Dr. Harrison immediately contacted the hospital.
Within minutes another specialist arrived.
Then another.
Soon the clinic was in chaos.
Photographs were taken.
Evidence was collected.
The police were notified.
Everyone asked the same question.
How could this happen?
Who had access to the cast?
According to hospital records, the cast had been applied correctly.
The X-rays confirmed it.
There had been no tacks originally.
Meaning someone added them later.
Someone who had regular access to Caleb.
Someone who could manipulate the cast without raising suspicion.
Someone who spent long periods alone with him.
Maya already knew the answer.
And judging by the expressions on the detectives' faces...
So did they.
At 1:15 p.m., Ethan Whitmore arrived.
The moment he saw Caleb's exposed arm, he turned ghostly pale.
“What happened?”
No one spoke.
Dr. Harrison handed him the evidence bag.
Inside were the rusted metal tacks.
Dozens of them.
Ethan stared.
Confused.
Then horrified.
Then furious.
“What is this?”
The detective answered quietly.
“These were hidden inside your son's cast.”
Ethan looked as though he might collapse.
“No.”
The detective nodded.
“We believe this was intentional.”
The billionaire's hands began shaking.
“Who would do this to my son?”
At that exact moment Maya's phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a familiar name.
Victoria Whitmore.
For the tenth time that afternoon.
Maya answered.
“Hello?”
Victoria sounded frantic.
“Where are you?”
“At the clinic.”
There was a pause.
Then Victoria asked the question that changed everything.
“Did you remove the cast?”
Maya's blood ran cold.
Not...
Is Caleb okay?
Not...
What happened?
Her first concern was the cast.
Maya slowly answered.
“Yes.”
Silence.
Dead silence.
Then Victoria whispered something she never intended anyone to hear.
“No... no... no...”
And the line disconnected.
Three minutes later another call came.
This time from mansion security.
The guard sounded panicked.
“Ms. Brooks…”
“What is it?”
“Mrs. Whitmore just arrived home.”
“And?”
The guard swallowed hard.
“She went straight to her office.”
“What happened?”
There was a long pause.
Then he said:
“She is shredding documents.”
Maya felt ice spread through her veins.
Because innocent people don't destroy evidence.
And deep down she knew the truth.
Victoria's perfect life was beginning to collapse.
But neither Maya nor Ethan yet understood how far the crime really went.
Because hidden inside Victoria's office was a secret far darker than anyone could imagine.
A secret connected not only to Caleb's suffering...
But to the mysterious death of his mother three years earlier.
May you like
And when detectives opened a locked drawer that evening...
They would uncover enough evidence to turn a child-abuse investigation into something far more terrifying.
