We went for dinner at our favorite burger spot.
Claire had agreed to stay with Zoey for a few hours.
Everything seemed fine until my phone buzzed on the table while we were enjoying our meal. Claire’s name flashed across the screen.
I picked up.
“Derek!” she cried. “Beau… he tried to attack me! He went crazy when I picked up Zoey!”
I heard Zoey crying in the background. Claire was breathless.
At that point, Rose was already grabbing her purse.
We sped home like bats out of hell. Claire met us in the living room, clutching Zoey in a tight hold, her face pale.
Beau sat behind the baby gate, still as a statue, ears low.
“He lunged at me,” Claire said. “I don’t feel safe around him.”
Something didn’t sit right.
I knew Beau. Knew his heart. He’d growl, bark, even block someone’s way… but lunge?
“Go sit down,” I told Rose. “I need to check something.”
I walked to the hallway closet and pulled out the security system monitor. We had a camera in the living room. Mostly to keep an eye on the baby when we were out. I pulled up the feed from earlier that night.
Fast-forwarded to when Claire arrived.
There she was… stepping through the door and greeting Beau with a wary glance. Zoey was in the bassinet. And there, slung over Claire’s shoulder, was a small gray backpack.
We’d seen that bag before, but never thought much of it.
My heart picked up speed.
She reached into the bag and pulled out a tablet. Sleek. Black.
Then, she propped it up on the coffee table, opened an app, and angled the camera toward the nursery.
I leaned in.
Claire was livestreaming.
At first, I thought I was seeing it wrong. But then the tablet screen lit up with hearts, emojis, and scrolling comments.
Claire smiled at the screen and whispered greetings. She aimed the tablet perfectly into the nursery, like she’d done it before. She even typed in a title across the bottom of the stream:
“Nanny Nights: Part 12.”
Rose let out a sharp breath behind me.
We watched as Claire cooed at the camera like some influencer, chatting about Zoey’s sleep habits, feeding schedule, and even how long she napped. Then came the caption, “Night routine with Baby Z 💕👶 #NannyLife”
I felt sick.
Our daughter’s bedtime… was content.
We’d trusted this woman to care for our newborn. And she was broadcasting her every move to strangers. Who was watching? How many? And why?
Then came the worst part.
Zoey stirred in her crib. A small cough. Then a sharper one. Her legs kicked under the blanket, and she made this awful wheezing noise.
She was choking.
That’s when Beau stood up immediately.
First, he nudged the crib with his nose. Then he barked.
But Claire didn’t react. She was scrolling on her tablet, AirPods in, completely zoned out.
Beau barked louder. Climbed onto the rug. Nudged the blanket again.
Then, he turned and snapped his jaws in the air, right beside Claire’s leg. Not to bite. Just enough to startle her.
And it worked.
Claire immediately yanked out her earbuds, jumped up, and rushed to the crib. She scooped Zoey into her arms, patted her back, and after a tense moment, our daughter cried out.
Claire held her tightly, eyes wide with fear. Not just fear for Zoey.
Fear of Beau.
And then she did something that made my skin crawl.
She backed out of the nursery, still holding Zoey. Shut the door. And locked it.
Beau was stuck inside.
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