The door handle moved slowly.

Once.

Twice.

Douglas was outside.

Garrett looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.

Not the cold confidence of a billionaire.

Not the authority of a man who controlled companies and boardrooms.

Fear.

Real fear.

“Hide,” he whispered again.

I didn’t move.

My mind was racing.

The man who had spent every day in that wheelchair…

The man everyone described as completely paralyzed…

Was standing in front of me.

And now he was asking me to protect his secret.

The handle turned harder.

“Garrett?”

Douglas’s voice became impatient.

“What are you doing in there?”

Garrett grabbed my arm and pulled me behind the heavy curtains near the window.

For someone who supposedly couldn’t walk, his movements were controlled and surprisingly strong.

The irony almost made me laugh.

A billionaire who had fooled everyone for years.

Including me.

The door opened.

Douglas stepped inside.

His eyes immediately moved toward the wheelchair.

Then toward Garrett’s empty bed.

My heart stopped.

But Garrett didn’t panic.

He simply walked back to the wheelchair and lowered himself into it before Douglas could notice.

It happened so quickly that I almost doubted what I had seen.

Almost.

Douglas walked closer.

“You forgot your medication.”

He placed a small bottle on the table.

Then he stared at Garrett.

“You look tired.”

Garrett said nothing.

Douglas smiled.

A smile that made my skin crawl.

“You know, brother, sometimes I wonder how long you plan on fighting.”

Garrett looked at him.

“What are you talking about?”

Douglas leaned against the desk.

“Your condition. Your health. Your company.”

A pause.

“Everything has a limit.”

I watched from behind the curtain.

There was something about the way Douglas spoke.

Not concern.

Expectation.

Like he was waiting for something.

Then he left.

The moment the door closed, Garrett released a breath.

I stepped out.

“Start explaining.”

He looked at me.

“You deserve the truth.”

“Yes.”

He looked toward the window.

“Seven years ago, I was injured in an accident.”

I waited.

“My spine was damaged, but I was never completely paralyzed.”

I frowned.

“Then why pretend?”

His expression darkened.

“Because someone tried to kill me.”

The room became silent.

“Who?”

Garrett looked at the closed door.

“My brother.”

I felt a chill.

“Douglas?”

“He wanted control of the company.”

Garrett explained that after the accident, doctors discovered someone had tampered with his vehicle.

There was evidence.

But before he could expose it, another attempt was made.

This time inside his own home.

“He needed everyone to believe I was helpless.”

“And the wheelchair?”

“A shield.”

I looked at him.

“Then why hire a caregiver?”

Garrett’s eyes met mine.

“Because I needed someone who wasn’t connected to my family.”

I understood.

Someone neutral.

Someone nobody suspected.

But there was one thing I still didn’t understand.

“Why me?”

He was quiet for a moment.

“Because your background showed you were loyal.”

I almost laughed.

“Loyal?”

After Christopher’s betrayal, that word felt almost cruel.

Garrett noticed my expression.

“Someone betrayed you recently.”

It wasn’t a question.

I looked away.

“My marriage ended.”

“Because of another woman?”

I froze.

“How do you know?”

“Because people who betray others usually repeat the same patterns.”

His answer was simple.

But it hit too close.

Then Garrett reached toward the drawer beside him.

He removed a file.

“This is why you need to know everything.”

Inside were documents.

Bank records.

Emails.

Photographs.

I scanned the pages.

Then I saw a familiar name.

Christopher.

My breath stopped.

“What is this?”

Garrett’s expression changed.

“Your ex-husband was not just cheating on you.”

I looked up.

“What do you mean?”

“He was working with Douglas.”

The room felt colder.

“No.”

Garrett placed another document in front of me.

A financial transfer.

A company account.

Christopher’s name.

“He was helping them move money before I hired you.”

I stared at the page.

The man who told me I was not enough.

The man whose mother blamed me for his betrayal.

The man who walked away believing I would struggle alone.

Was part of something much bigger.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“Because I needed proof.”

Garrett looked at me.

“And now I have it.”

Then his phone suddenly vibrated.

He checked the screen.

His face changed.

“What?”

I stepped closer.

“What happened?”

He showed me the message.

Unknown number.

Only five words.

“THE CAREGIVER KNOWS TOO MUCH.”

My stomach tightened.

Garrett immediately locked the phone.

“They know.”

“Who?”

He looked at me.

“Everyone we were trying to expose.”

A sound came from the hallway.

Footsteps.

Not Douglas this time.

Multiple people.

Garrett looked toward the door.

“Rebecca.”

“Yes?”

“If anything happens tonight, you leave immediately.”

I stared at him.

“I’m not running.”

For the first time, a faint smile appeared on his face.

“Good.”

Then the lights suddenly went out.

The entire mansion fell into darkness.

And from the hallway, a voice called my name.

Not Garrett’s.

Not Douglas’s.

A voice I recognized.

A voice that should have been thousands of miles away.

“Rebecca…”

My blood froze.

Because the person standing outside Garrett’s room…

Was the last person I expected to see.