A silver cross around her neck.
And grief she carried silently in her heart.
Years earlier, she had buried her own son.
So when she heard about a sick little girl needing care…
Something inside her told her she needed to go.
The first moment Martha saw Sophie, her heart nearly broke.
The bedroom looked magical.
Like a princess’s dream.
Soft pink curtains.
Stuffed animals.
Beautiful paintings.
But the child lying in that bed…
Looked like a ghost.
“Hello there, sweetheart…” Martha said gently as she stepped closer.
Sophie slowly opened her eyes.
“Are you an angel?”
Martha swallowed the lump in her throat.
“No, baby… but I’m here now.”
Sophie reached for her hand.
Her tiny fingers were freezing cold.
Weak.
“It hurts so much,” she whispered.
She pointed toward her stomach.
Martha carefully held her, as though Sophie might shatter.
And for the first time in what felt like forever…
The little girl smiled.
Just a little.
But everything changed that same night.
Vanessa entered the room.
Her expensive perfume filled the air.
Her expression was calm.
Too calm.
“Time for your vitamins,” she said sweetly.
But the smile never touched her eyes.
Sophie immediately stiffened.
Her small body began to shake.
Martha noticed instantly.
That fear…
It wasn’t normal.
After Vanessa left, Sophie gently tugged on Martha’s sleeve.
She glanced nervously toward the doorway.
Then whispered so softly Martha barely heard her.
“I don’t like them.”
Martha frowned.
“What don’t you like, sweetheart?”
“The vitamins…”
“Why?”
Tears gathered in Sophie’s eyes.
Her voice trembled.
“Because… they make my tummy burn… every night…”
A chill shot through Martha’s entire body.
She turned toward the bedside table.
Several small bottles sat there.
No labels.
No prescription markings.
Odd colored liquids.
And only Vanessa ever touched them.
Something inside Martha screamed.
Something was terribly wrong.
That night Martha couldn’t sleep.
Fear settled deep in her chest.
Because in her heart…
She was beginning to suspect something horrifying.
And what she would soon uncover…
Would put both her life and Sophie’s in danger.
The next morning Martha waited carefully.
Until Vanessa left for a bridal fitting.
Until Nathan disappeared into his office.
Then, with her heart pounding wildly, Martha slipped into Sophie’s room.
The little girl was asleep.
Breathing softly.
As if even resting exhausted her.
Martha moved to the nightstand.
There they were.
The bottles.
Unmarked.
Suspicious.