Genre: Psychological Thriller

“Please don’t worry, Ava. Your baby is safe with me. I’m going to take care of her like she’s my own…”

Ever since my daughter Isa was born, I’ve been struggling. I can’t remember anything, and my brain is in a fog. So when my husband Ned suggests we hire a night nanny, I leap at the chance.

As soon as she walks into our home, I feel a wave of relief. I smile at her and notice her eyes are the color of amethysts. A memory flashes across my brain, but before I can grasp it, it’s gone.

But something isn’t right. Ned is acting strangely and every time I ask him why, he tells me I’m being paranoid. But I’ve seen him whispering to our nanny and it makes me nervous. He was the one who wanted to hire her, and now I’m wondering why…

Then my engagement ring goes missing. Ned is furious—it cost a fortune—but I know I haven’t misplaced it. I always hide it in the same place, and no one knows where except him.

But then it gets worse. Our nanny accuses me of leaving my baby face down on her stomach, struggling to breathe. I might be exhausted, but I would never do that. But when I look to Ned for support, I can see he doesn’t believe me.

I feel like an outsider in my own home. Am I going mad, or is someone trying to destroy me?

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

Dearest Mama~

If you don’t hear from me again, I’m dead.

I’m scared. This place is creepy. It’s dark and damp and smells really bad. Musty and medicinal, and I just saw a rat. Somewhere a girl is crying. It sounds like she’s in terrible pain. And when I went to use the bathroom, there was blood in the toilet. So much blood I almost threw up.

It didn’t look so bad on the outside; in fact, it looked like one of those beautiful homes you work in. All brick, two stories, with a shrub-and-flower-filled yard, and it overlooked a crystal-blue lake. An attractive woman in an elegant suit met me at the front door and instructed me to use a side entrance that led to the birthing clinic in the basement.

Right now, I’m sitting here all by myself in the waiting room on a hard wooden chair, one arm folded across my big, swollen belly. I so wish you were here with me, but I know that if you took a day off from work, that awful couple whose ginormous house you clean would fire you in a second. One day when I become a famous actress, you won’t have to work for people like that anymore. If I have it my way, you’ll never have to work again, and you and Em can live with me and my baby in our Beverly Hills mansion.

The girl’s crying is getting louder. It sounds like she’s dying! I want to cover my ears, but someone is calling out my name.

A woman in a white uniform. She’s tall and intimidating. Her name is Nurse Bates. I see it on her name tag. She flashed me a smile, so maybe she’s nice.

A high-pitched scream is mingling with the sobs, and someone just burst through the door to the delivery room. It’s a little girl with waist-length blonde ringlets who’s clad in a frilly pink dress. She looks a few years older than Em. Maybe age eight or nine. So pale, she looks like she just saw a ghost.

The nurse yelled at her to go upstairs. But first the poor little thing dashed to the bathroom before I could stop her. When she came back out, vomit was splattered all over her pretty dress. Our eyes connected, hers wide with terror, and then she ran up the stairs as fast as her feet could carry her.

A sharp voice is ringing out at the top of the stairs. “There you are, you naughty child! I’ve been looking all over for you! You should have NEVER gone down there!”

I recognize it. It’s the woman who met me at the front door. She sounds very angry. I can no longer see or hear the frightened little girl. Oh, Lord!! I hope she doesn’t get into trouble.

In the meantime, the sobs have gone silent. The girl before me must have had her baby. Now it’s my turn. I’m freaking out. More than a little.

I’m wearing the beautiful necklace with the small gold cross you gave me and hope it will bring me good luck. That it won’t hurt and there’ll be no complications.

Guess what?! The baby just kicked and I feel a tingle of excitement. I can’t wait to give birth and hold her in my arms. And I can’t wait for you and Em to meet her.

Sorry, I’ve got to go. Nurse Bates is giving me the stink eye. I’m going to give her this letter and ask her to mail it to you. I hope she’s someone I can trust.

Just one last thing… if something does happen to me or my baby, promise you’ll never forget the man who forced me to come to this horrible place.

And to NEVER forgive him.

He needs to pay.

Forever~ Your loving daughter

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About the Author

Nelle Lamarr is the psychological suspense pen name for Nelle L’Amour, a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author, who has sold over 350,000 books worldwide and has been an Amazon All-Star. Her books feature complex, multidimentional characters—strong women among them— and jaw-dropping twists you won’t see coming. A former executive in the entertainment industry with a blockbuster children’s television series to her credit, she lives in Los Angeles, California, with her Prince Charming-ish husband, beautiful twin princesses, and a bevy of royal pain-in-the-butt pets. When she isn’t writing, you can find her reading gripping thrillers by her favorite authors with a cup of coffee or glass of wine. The Night Nanny is her second psychological suspense and follows her critically acclaimed debut, The Family Guest, which has been translated into a dozen languages.

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