Chapter 4 The Attic Room

• Mia discovered very quickly that one hundred thousand dollars a month did not mean one hundred thousand dollars worth of comfort.
• At least, not during the seven-day trial.
• Mrs. Sterling led her through the mansion after dinner, past polished hallways, enormous paintings, and rooms that looked as though nobody had touched them in years. Mia had expected a guest room. Perhaps something modest but comfortable.
• Instead, Mrs. Sterling stopped at a narrow door.
• “This is your room.”
• Mia stared at it.
• “Here?”
• “Here.”
• Mrs. Sterling opened the door and Mia stepped inside and blinked.
• The room was tiny. There was a narrow bed against one wall, a small wooden wardrobe, a desk barely large enough for a lamp, and one little window overlooking the garage roof. The ceiling sloped sharply on one side, making the room feel even smaller.
• Mia turned slowly.
• “This is the nanny room?”
• “Yes.”
• “Above the garage?”
• “Yes.”
• Mia looked at Mrs. Sterling.
• “I thought you said guest quarters.”
• “I said you would live in the guest quarters.”
• Mia pointed at the ceiling.
• “This is an attic.”
• Mrs. Sterling's mouth twitched.
• “It is technically a room in the attic.”
• “That is a very creative interpretation.”
• “I have worked for Mr. Black for eleven years. You learn to be creative.”
• Mia dropped her bag onto the bed. The mattress made a sad squeaking sound. She looked at it, the mattress seemed to look back.
• Mrs. Sterling cleared her throat.
• “Dinner is served at seven. Lily's bedtime is eight-thirty. Her breakfast is at seven. Her school schedule is in the folder on your desk.”
• Mia picked up the folder.
• “Anything else?”
• “Do not disturb Mr. Black.”
• “I wasn't planning to.”
• “And do not wander around the mansion at night.”
• Mia frowned.
• “Why?”
• Mrs. Sterling's expression became unreadable.
• “Because Mr. Black dislikes surprises.”
• “That sounds like a personal problem.”
• “It is.”
• With that, Mrs. Sterling left. Mia closed the door behind her and leaned against it. She was officially living in a billionaire's mansion, and somehow, she had ended up above his garage in a room smaller than her old bedroom closet.
• She laughed quietly.
• “Seven days,” she whispered to herself.
• She could survive seven days because she had survived worse. She unpacked the few clothes she had brought and placed them inside the tiny wardrobe. Then she sat at the desk and pulled out her phone.
• There was one message from the hospital. Her mother's surgery deposit was still unpaid. Mia's smile disappeared.
• She stared at the number on the screen.
• Fifty thousand dollars in thirty days.
• She closed her eyes.
• “Just seven days,” she whispered.
• If she could survive the trial, maybe Adrian would hire her, maybe the money would finally come, maybe her mother would be okay.
• A cold draft brushed across her face. Mia opened her eyes and looked around.
• “Where did that come from?”
• She noticed the heater beside the bed.
• She turned the switch, but nothing happened. She tried again, still nothing. She sighed.
• “Of course.”
• She pulled the blanket from the bed around her shoulders.
• The mansion looked beautiful from outside.
• Inside, it felt strangely cold. Not just because of the weather. There was something about the place that made every hallway seem too quiet and too empty. Even the expensive furniture and glowing chandeliers couldn't hide the feeling that something had been missing for a long time.
• Mia suspected she knew what it was.
• A mother.
• She remembered Lily's question.
• ' Will you be my mommy? '
• Mia shook her head.
• “No.”
• She couldn't think about that.
• Rule one was clear: Do not touch Lily emotionally.
• Mia wasn't sure how she was supposed to care for a child without caring about her, but apparently that was billionaire logic.
• She crawled into bed. The blanket wasn't enough, so she pulled her knees toward her chest.
• “It's fine,” she whispered.
• It wasn't. The cold grew worse as the hours passed.
• Eventually, Mia fell asleep, but woke sometime after midnight.
• At first, she thought someone was knocking. She opened her eyes.
• Knock...Knock.
• Mia sat up.
• “Who's there?”
• There was no answer. She climbed out of bed and opened the door.
• The hallway was dark. Mia looked around, but still found nothing.
• Then she heard a tiny sniffle. She looked down.
• Lily stood there barefoot. Her hair was messy from sleep, and she was wearing pink pajamas. Wrapped around her shoulders was a thick cream-colored blanket that nearly dragged across the floor.
• Mia's expression softened.
• “Lily?”
• The girl looked up. “You're cold.”
• Mia glanced at the blanket. “Did you bring that for me?”
• Lily nodded. Mia crouched.
• “Where did you get it?”
• “My room.”
• “Does your daddy know you're here?”
• Lily shook her head.
• Mia looked toward the staircase. She lowered her voice.
• “You came all the way here by yourself?”
• Another nod. Mia couldn't help smiling. “You're a brave little thing.”
• Lily held out the blanket.
• “Take it.”
• Mia hesitated. “Your daddy said you shouldn't be wandering around at night.”
• Lily frowned. “He doesn't know.”
• “That isn't exactly an argument in your favor.”
• Lily pushed the blanket closer and Mia accepted it.
• “Thank you.”
• Lily smiled. Mia wrapped the blanket around herself. It was warm. Much warmer than the thin one on her bed.
• She looked at Lily.
• “Did you know my heater is broken?”
• Lily nodded. “I heard you coughing.”
• Mia's heart tightened. “You were listening?”
• Lily shrugged.
• Mia stood and tucked the blanket around the little girl's shoulders.
• “You should be in bed.”
• “So should you.”
• Mia laughed softly.
• “Fair point.”
• Lily looked around the room.
• “Do you like it?”
• Mia glanced at the tiny bed.
• “The room?”
• Lily nodded. Mia considered lying.
• Rule three: Never lie to Adrian.
• She smiled. “It's small.”
• Lily giggled.
• Mia pointed at the ceiling. “If I stretch too far, I might hit my head.”
• Lily looked up. Then laughed again. The sound filled the tiny room.
• Mia smiled. For a moment, she forgot everything. The hospital, the money, the lie, Adrian, everything.
• There was only a little girl standing in her doorway in the middle of the night, trying to make sure a stranger wasn't cold.
• “Lily.”
• The little girl looked at her.
• “You're sweet.”
• Lily smiled. Then her eyes became sleepy.
• Mia took her hand.
• “Come on. Let's get you back to bed before your father discovers you've escaped.”
• Lily nodded. They walked toward the stairs.
• Mia stopped when she heard footsteps below. Someone was coming. She looked down.
• A tall figure appeared at the bottom of the staircase.
• Adrian.
• He was wearing dark lounge clothes, his expression hardening the moment he saw Lily.
• “Lily.”
• The little girl froze.
• Mia felt her stomach drop.
• Adrian's eyes moved from his daughter to the blanket around Mia's shoulders.
• Then to Mia.
• “What is she doing here?”
• Mia opened her mouth.
• Before she could answer, Lily stepped forward.
• “She was cold.”
• Adrian stared at her. Then his eyes returned to Mia. For several seconds, nobody moved. Finally, Adrian looked at the blanket.
• “You took that from Lily's room?”
• “No,” Mia said. “She brought it to me.”
• His expression changed slightly.
• “Why?”
• Mia looked down at Lily. The little girl was holding her hand.
• “She heard my heater was broken.”
• Adrian said nothing. His gaze remained on Lily. Something unreadable passed through his face, then Lily tugged at his sleeve.
• “Daddy?”
• He looked down. “Go back to bed.”
• Lily didn't move. She looked at Mia, then at her father.
• “I wanted her to be warm.”
• Adrian's jaw tightened.
• Mia waited for him to be angry, instead, he turned toward the hallway.
• “Mrs. Sterling will have the heater fixed in the morning.”
• Mia blinked. “Thank you.”
• Adrian stopped. He looked over his shoulder.
• “Don't misunderstand me.”
• Mia frowned.
• “I wasn't.”
• “This changes nothing.”
• “I know.”
• “Seven days.”
• “I remember.”
• His gaze moved to Lily.
• “Take her back to her room.”
• Mia nodded.
• Lily squeezed her hand.
• As Mia led her upstairs, she glanced back once.
• Adrian was still standing at the bottom of the staircase watching.
• And for the first time, Mia wondered if the coldest thing in Black Mansion wasn't the broken heater.
• Maybe it was the man who lived inside it.