My voice sounded steadier than I felt.

“She said they were in her desk, but I must have mistaken the room.”

Dino stepped fully into the bedroom.

His leather shoes made no sound on the thick oriental rug.

He was a big man, his chest swelling against the fabric of his grey suit jacket.

He looked around the small, tidy room, his eyes lingering on the open vanity drawers.

“This doesn’t look like a desk,” Dino said.

“No,” I replied, keeping my hands visible and flat against my apron. “I realized that too late.”

He walked over to the vanity, his gaze fixed on my face.

The smell of stale tobacco and expensive cologne followed him.

“You’re the new nanny,” he said.

“Yes, sir. For Master Leo.”

Dino looked down at the vanity table, his fingers brushing the polished wood where the hidden latch was located.

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.

If he opened the compartment now, he would find the ledger.

He would find the evidence that Silvio was paying Mrs. Higgins to systematically poison a three-year-old child.