Believe Me

“Step away from my patient,” Clara said. “The agency confirmed you don't work for them. And that medication isn't ordered.”

The woman's hand stopped for a fraction of a second.

“There must be a mistake at the office. The family hired me directly.”

“Then you'll stay where you are while we check,” Adrian said.

He pressed the call button beside his chair. The guard from the hallway entered before Elise could reach her bag.

“Don't let her leave or touch anything,” Adrian ordered. “Get Marcus and Dr. Price. Now.”

Elise attempted a laugh.

“Mr. Castellano, your employee is creating an unnecessary problem.”

“She told you to step away from me. You're going to do it.”

Clara realized she was standing between them. She made room for the guard, keeping her eyes on the woman's hand. Titan had risen. Adrian called him in a low, steady voice, and the dog moved beside his chair.

Elise's expression changed as more people filled the doorway. The smile disappeared. She said she wasn't answering questions and demanded an attorney.

Marcus took over. Clara repeated what the agency had confirmed, handed him her phone so he could speak directly to the supervisor, and explained what she'd seen. Price arrived and checked Adrian.

The woman was taken out without touching him.

Clara kept staring at the spot where she'd stood.

Seconds earlier, they'd been discussing a shift change. How easily it had almost happened made her feel cold beneath her scrubs.

“Clara.”

She turned too quickly.

Adrian indicated the empty chair.

“Sit down.”

“I need to check what she left and finish my notes.”

“Price is checking. Marcus is handling the rest. Sit before your legs make the decision for you.”

She obeyed because her knees really were failing. She tucked her hands between them, but not quickly enough to conceal the trembling.

Adrian saw.

The door stood open. Men passed outside, speaking quietly, and the room suddenly felt too small. She wanted everybody to leave. She wanted somebody to tell her exactly what was happening.

Price completed his examination and said there was no indication the woman had managed to administer anything. Nora arrived minutes later, alarmed by the activity, with the supervisor on her phone.

Clara gave the handoff again. This time to a colleague she knew.

When the medical staff stepped away for a moment, Adrian leaned over, picked up a glass of water, and held it out.

“Drink.”

“You should be resting.”

“I intend to. As soon as you stop looking like you're about to pass out.”

That almost earned him a smile. She took two sips and tasted the metal fear had left in her mouth.

“She had an authorization from the house.”

“I know.”

“The guard checked it. He didn't just let somebody wander in.”

“Marcus will find out what happened.”

Adrian sounded so calm it was beginning to unsettle her.

“Does this happen often?”

He took a moment before answering.

“Somebody tried to kill me that night. They failed. We're still identifying everyone involved.”

She lowered the glass.

“You thought I'd be safe here.”

“I did. I was wrong.”

She hadn't expected the admission to come so readily. Her gaze dropped to his arm, then the recent scar visible near his collar. Suddenly, he seemed dangerously close to becoming the body in the hallway again.

“I need the truth, Adrian. If I'm going to work in this house, I need enough information to decide.”

He nodded.

“You'll have that conversation with Marcus and me. And you can end your contract today. The agency will be paid. You won't lose anything.”

Titan rested his chin on her knee. She ran her fingers between his ears, looking for something solid.

“I don't make good decisions when I'm scared,” she admitted. “I'll think after I've slept.”

“All right.”

Marcus returned shortly before nine. The visitor authorization was genuine, issued through an office that managed estate services. Her supposed professional credentials, however, hadn't survived the first check. The police had been notified. What she'd brought would be examined.

“We're suspending that authorization channel and reviewing access,” he explained. “Every professional will be confirmed directly with the agency before reaching the gate.”

Clara asked questions. About schedules. About who could alter them. About what she should do if something felt wrong again. Marcus answered without treating her like an impressionable girl.

She needed that. More than promises, she needed answers she could understand.

Later, after Nora had settled in, Clara found her bag on the chair near the door. Adrian was still awake.

“You kept checking before you left,” he said.

“It was my responsibility to confirm the handoff.”

“You'd finished your shift. You could have gone as soon as she showed you the authorization.”

Clara closed her hand around the strap.

“Something felt wrong.”

“And you came back.”

There was something in how he said it. No accusation. No charm. As though the act carried a weight she didn't yet understand.

She looked at Titan, then at the man who'd noticed her hours, remembered her lunch, and listened when she'd told him to stop.

“I wasn't going to let someone hurt you right in front of me.”

Her voice sounded more personal than she'd intended.

Adrian offered his hand. He didn't reach to catch her. He simply left it within reach.

She could have said good night. Instead, she laid her fingers against his.

The contact lasted only a moment. It was enough to change the way she felt inside her own skin.

“Thank you for coming back,” he said.

In the car Marcus arranged, Clara rested her forehead against the cold window. The memory of Adrian's hand mingled with the terror of what had almost happened.

She decided she'd call the agency in the morning, listen to the new arrangements, and think clearly.

But she already knew the hardest part of the decision wouldn't be the money.