At 8:30 p.m. the Sinclair family were slowing down. Max and Lily, were both in their sleepers and were having their nightly glass of milk in the sitting room. Lana's cell phone beeped softly.
“Kids, who do you think is calling?" she asked, holding up the phone.
"Grandma!" Max and Lily shouted in unison, their excitement was boundless.
Lana pressed the speakerphone button, and the warm voice of Mrs. Sinclair came through. "Hello, my darlings! How are my favourite grandchildren?
"We're good, Grandma!" Max bubbled over. "We made the biggest sandcastle this afternoon, and we want to show you pictures!"
Lily chimed in, "And we played tag in the garden! It was so much fun!"
Mrs. Sinclair laughed,"That sounds wonderful! You two always know how to have the best adventures."
"When are you coming to visit us, Grandma?" Max asked greedily.
"Better yet," Mrs. Sinclair replied, "when are you coming to visit me? I miss having you here, running around my garden and filling the house with laughter."
"In the summer holidays!" Lily declared confidently.
"Summer it is, then," said Mrs. Sinclair, her eyes shining with excitement. "I shall plan loads and loads of fun things for us to do. We may bake cookies or even go on a picnic or horseback riding. How does it sound?"
"Perfect!" the children chorused in unison.
Mrs. Sinclair let out a sigh. "I love hearing your voices before bed. It reminds me how lucky I am to have you both. Now, be good to your daddy and Lana, all right?"
"We will, Grandma. Goodnight!"
"Goodnight, my loves," Mrs. Sinclair said warmly. Then her tone softened and she turned to Lana, "And thank you, Lana, for taking such good care of them. I appreciate all that you do."
Lana felt a blush on her cheeks. "It's my pleasure, Mrs. Sinclair. They're wonderful kids. Goodnight ma."
\---
It wasn't until 2 a.m. that the house had gone quiet, the only sound being heard was that of the soft creak of the front door opening.
Nikolai and Evelyn stepped inside-slow, Evelyn's makeup was worn out, her hair no longer perfectly set as it had been earlier in the evening, but there was no pleasure in the manner of her appearance.
"Finally," she muttered, kicking off her heels. "I'm going to find my watch right now. This has been bothering me all night."
Nikolai held her back on the arm . "Evelyn, not now. The kids are asleep. You'll wake them if you start tearing the house apart in the middle of the night."
She turned to him, frustration marking her expression. "You don't understand. That watch isn't just an accessory. It's a symbol of my status. Someone in this house has disrespected me, and I won't let it slide."
"I know," Nikolai answered calmly, but firmly. "But neither now is the time, nor are we fresher to go making a scene. We shall do it all in the morning."
Evelyn's lips pressed into a thin line, and after a moment, she relented, "Fine." Though by her tone, it didn't sound like she was happy to acquiesce. "But first thing tomorrow, I'm finding it. And when I do, whoever took it will regret it."
Nikolai nodded and guided her upstairs. Their footsteps were soft, but the creak of stairs reached Lana's ears faintly.
\---
Lana lay in her bed, eyes wide despite the lateness of the hour. She had heard the opening of the door, the muffled conversation between Nikolai and Evelyn. As the quiet settled once more, her thoughts whirled.
She couldn't help but speculate on who would be brazen enough to steal from a force like Evelyn. The woman commanded respect. Her sharp words and intimidating height seemed to be enough to keep everyone around her on their toes. Lana could hardly imagine any of the staff daring to lose their jobs, let alone their sanity, over some wristwatch, regardless of its worth.
"Maybe she lost it somewhere," Lana said to herself, but the thought wasn't really plausible since Evelyn was such a careful person.
She turned onto her side, her gaze falling on the faintly glowing digital clock on her nightstand. Sleep seemed very far away as her head was too filled with analyzing what had happened that evening. The innocent children's laughter from earlier in the night felt like a world away from the tension Evelyn brought into her house.
She lay there and then heard the creak of a door opening. She froze, listening intently. But it was only brief and then was followed by light padding down the hall.
"Probably Nikolai," she thought, though a small part of her could not shake the feeling that something was amiss.
\---
In the master bedroom, Evelyn sat on the bed, still fuming. "I can't believe this," she muttered to herself. "This is exactly why I don't trust people."
Nikolai let out a loud breath and pulled off his tie, slinging it onto a chair. "Evelyn, just let it go for tonight. Stressing over it won't bring it back.
"You're too calm about this," she snapped, shooting him a glare. "If it were your watch, I'm sure you'd be turning this house upside down by now."
"Maybe," he admitted, "but it's late and I know how to pick my battles. We'll figure it out tomorrow."
Evelyn said nothing more; in silence, her anger bubbling, she slid under the covers. Nikolai got in beside her a minute later, leaned over, and clicked off the bedside lamp.
“Goodnight”. He said
\---
Meanwhile, Lana finally closed her eyes, but her sleep was not restful. Her dreams were filled with misplaced watches, accusing voices, and Evelyn's eyes bothered her all night.
“How will anybody wanna steal from her, I mean it's crazy. Well, it's not my problem. I just need to sleep now. I have school tomorrow and I don't want to be late.”
She covered herself with the blanket and stretched her body trying to get some sleep.
She yawn and place her sleeping mask on her face and turned of her lights.