“I didn’t take this,” I said. “I just found it in my bag.”

“Of course you did,” she said, stepping into the room.

She smelled of peppermint soap and harsh bleach.

She snatched the watch from my fingers, her grip tight and bony.

“The Don’s watch,” she said, turning to the guards. “Mr. DeLuca has been looking for this since yesterday morning.”

One of the guards, a tall man named Frank, looked uneasy.

“We need to call Mr. DeLuca,” Frank said.

“I already did,” Mrs. Higgins replied. “He is on his way up the private elevator right now.”

She stepped closer to me, her eyes narrowing into slits.

“You thought you were so clever, didn’t you?” she whispered, her voice dropping so the guards couldn’t hear. “Playing the savior with the little boy.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I said, keeping my voice steady.

“He has been sitting up in bed. He has been eating his broth,” she said, her voice a low, venomous hiss. “He isn’t sleeping through the afternoon anymore. You are meddling where you don’t belong, girl.”

“I am doing my job,” I said.