Chapter 30 The strange visitor
A week later
Rain POV
I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped into the sitting room.
The kind of wrong that sits quietly on expensive furniture and waits for you to notice it.
There was a woman there.
She sat on the cream sectional like she belonged to the house. Her legs crossed, posture elegant, fingers resting lightly on her knee. She wore black suits. Her skin was pale in a way that didn’t look sickly. It looked rather preserved.
She lifted her gaze slowly when she sensed me.
Our eyes met.
I felt it immediately. A cold ripple slid down my spine.
“Good afternoon,” she said smoothly. Her voice was calm, and cultured.
“Good afternoon.” I swallowed.
I glanced around instinctively. Rosee wasn't at home, no visible security and Precious was nowhere in sight. The house was unsettling quiet.
“I didn’t know we were expecting a guest,” I added carefully.
The woman smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Oh,” she replied, tilting her head slightly, “I’m not a guest.”
That was all she said.
I nodded slowly, though my instincts were screaming.
“Alright. The children will be back from school shortly.”
“I know.”
That made my fingers curl slightly at my sides.
Before I could respond, the front door opened and the familiar chatter of children echoed down the hall.
“Noah, stop pulling my bag!”
“You stepped on my shoe first!”
Their voices, normal, loud, cut through the tension like air. Relief flooded me.
The moment they walked into the sitting room, everything changed.
Lia froze mid-step. Noah’s hand slipped from hers. Their eyes locked on the woman.
Both of them went pale.
Lia’s fingers began to tremble. Noah’s lower lip quivered as if he wanted to speak but couldn’t remember how.
“Hey,” I said immediately, dropping the basket I was holding and kneeling. “What’s wrong?”
Neither of them answered. They just stared at the woman.
“Noah?” I reached for him. “Lia?”
Lia’s breathing turned shallow. She shook her head slowly, eyes never leaving the woman.
“No,” she whispered. “No, no, no…”
Noah made a small, broken sound in his throat.
I pulled them both into my arms without thinking. Noah pressed his face into my shoulder, clutching my shirt like he was drowning. Lia’s nails dug into my arm.
“It’s okay,” I murmured. “You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
That was when the woman stood.
The movement was unhurried, graceful. She rose to her full height and stepped closer, her presence suddenly filling the room.
“Oh, my poor loves,” she said softly, crouching slightly to their level. “What’s wrong?”
Noah made a strangled sob.
Then I felt it. Warmth soaking into my thigh.
I stiffened.
Noah whimpered, mortified. “I—I didn’t—”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly, tightening my arms around him. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
The woman’s eyes flickered downward. Her smile deepened.
I stood immediately, placing myself fully between her and the twins.
“That’s far enough,” I said, my voice steady despite the way my heart was pounding. “You’re scaring them.”
Her gaze lifted to mine, amused. “Am I? I didn't even do anything.”
“Yes,” I snapped. “You are. So you need to step back.”
She studied me as if I were something mildly interesting. “You must be the nanny.”
“I am,” I replied. “And I’m asking you to leave.”
A soft laugh escaped her lips. “You don’t have that authority.”
I raised my voice. “Precious! Where the hell did he go”
Footsteps hurried in from the hallway. Precious stopped dead when he saw her.
His eyes widened. “Y–You—”
“Precious,” I said sharply, without turning. “Please escort this woman out.”
He didn’t move.
“Precious?” I turned to look at him. My brow raised.
He was staring at her like he’d seen a ghost.
“I—I can’t,” he said hoarsely.
The woman smiled at him. “Still loyal. How touching.”
My chest tightened. “Why can’t you?”
Precious swallowed hard. “Because… because she...”
“That’s enough,” the woman interrupted gently. Then she looked back at the twins, peeking over my shoulder. “You’ve grown so much.”
Lia let out a broken scream. “Don’t look at us!”
Can someone tell me what's going on? Why are the children sacred and why can't Precious send this woman out.
“Do not speak to them again,” I said coldly. “You are trespassing, and if you don’t leave right now...”
She tilted her head, eyes glinting.
“Or what?” she asked.
Before I could answer, she smiled wide and her teeth lengthened.
Those long canine teeth.
Noah screamed.
Lia collapsed against me, shaking violently.
I didn’t think. I reacted.
“Precious!” I shouted. “Get her out. Now!”
“I told you,” Precious whispered, horrified, “I can’t.”
The woman straightened, her teeth retracting as if the display had been nothing more than a party trick.
“I only wanted to say hello,” she said lightly. “But I suppose this will do.”
She turned toward the door, then paused.
“I’ll come back tonight,” she added, glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes settled on the twins. “We have much to discuss.”
“Do not come back,” I snapped.
She laughed softly. “Oh, I will.”
And then she was gone.
The room felt colder without her, like warmth had been sucked out through the walls.
Noah sobbed openly now. Lia clung to me, silent tears soaking into my shirt.
I held them tighter, my own hands shaking.
“Who was that?” I demanded, looking at Precious.
He shook his head slowly. “That,” he said, voice barely audible, “was trouble.”
I swallowed hard, staring at the doorway she had disappeared through.
I didn’t know who she was. But every instinct I had was screaming one thing. For her to have that much power on the twins and precious.
She must be...