Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Natalic slipped through the door, ready to gently wake up Nate when the teacher pulled her aside and whispered, “Nate had a bit of a fever this afternoon. We couldn’t reach you, so I gave him some fever reducer.”

Natalie paused, surprised, “He was fine this morning, what happened?”

“It might’ve been during the after–school activities. The kids were playing with water guns, and Nate didn’t have a change of clothes. The caretaker didn’t get to him in time to switch into dry clothes and he caught a chill,” the teacher said with a hint of guilt in her voice. “But after the medicine, he’s been better. We’ve checked his temperature three times and the fever’s gone.”

Natalie reached out cautiously and felt Nate’s forehead. It wasn’t as hot as before.

“Thanks for taking care of him,” she said gratefully.

Nate was sleeping deeply. With the medicine having taken effect, it didn’t stir as Natalie carried him to the car.

Arriving at Prestige Penthouses, Natalie discovered a power outage.

“What’s going on?” she asked the security guard.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” the guard expressed with regret, “Due to urgent repairs that began at five and are still underway, we’ve lost power. It may be at least another half an hour before it can be restored. You may have to take the stairs in the meantime.”

Natalie frowned involuntarily, glancing back at Nate, whose cheeks seemed to be getting redder. There was nothing in the car to cover him with and waiting was out of the question.

After a moment of thought, she decided to take the emergency stairs. They lived on the tenth floor, which wasn’t too high.

Nate’s body was warm against hers, but not overly so.

By the fifth floor, Nate managed to open his eyes and flashed a weak smile. “Lady… we’re home…”

He mumbled something else before settling back into sleep against Natalie’s shoulder.

Natalie guessed that Nate feared being neglected again.

Born into the Howard family, envied by all of Streamville, Natalie felt that Nate’s life was somehow lacking, stirring a sense of pity. Perhaps the Howard family was too caught up in their lives to give Nate the care he needed.

As they neared the ninth floor, Natalie heard a sound from one of the stairwell doors above. Just a noise, then silence.

The dim light in the stairwell gave Natalie an uneasy feeling, prompting her to halt.

Her identity made her a target, and her instincts told her something upstairs might be amiss.

Deciding quickly, she turned to head back down. Every three floors there was a utility room. The sixth might have maintenance or security staff.

But as she turned, a hand suddenly grabbed her from behind. Startled, she reacted instantly, grabbing and twisting the intruder’s hand with enough force to send an adult man tumbling down the stairs, especially with the disadvantage of the higher ground.

In the next second, however, she was pushed hard against the wall.

Before she could cry out, a hand clamped firmly over her mouth.

“It’s me!” the man behind her said, turning her in his arms.

Natalie broke out in a cold sweat. It wasn’t until she saw it was Brian that her heart settled.

Brian had somehow taken Nate into his arms and balanced him effortlessly on one shoulder, with his other hand still covering Natalie’s mouth, signaling her to keep quiet.

They were very close as Brian furrowed his brows to give Natalie a stern look.

So something was indeed wrong upstairs.

Natalie quieted down, her breathing steadied, and she silently looked into the eyes of Brian, who was holding her against the wall. Brian glanced upstairs again and when he looked back, locking eyes with Natalie, a silent understanding passed between them.