Chapter one: The nanny

“Ophelia, come down here, angel,” my mom yelled for yet another time.

“I'm coming,” I shouted back.

I put down my paintbrush, and before I exited my room, I glanced once more at the canvas I had in front of me. My inspiration once again was one of my dreams; this time I was painting a woman's jewelry box placed on her vanity. Diamond rings, necklaces with pearls, and bracelets with gemstones. The jewelry had to be expensive, but I was pretty sure I had never seen them in my life before.

I climbed down the stairs, and my mom sighed when her eyes fall on me.

“Finally! Ms. Stewarts is on her way here. I thought I'd have to drag you myself down here.”

“I'm here now and I'm going to greet my grandparents,” I told her quickly. I was not in the mood to be scolded again.

“What were you drawing again, angel?” my grandpa asked, and he motioned for me to sit on his lap.

“A jewelry box” I exclaimed smiling.

“Diamonds are woman's best friend,” my grandma told me with a wink.

“That explains your jewelry choices, Eve,” my grandpa said, rolling his eyes at his wife.

My grandma sights at his comment and decides to change the subject, “This will be the potential nanny number four. I would have never guessed that it will be so difficult to find a good babysitter.”

“We wouldn't have been bothering looking for a nanny if Ana had agreed in the first place to let Ophelia with us.”

“Oh, come on, dad. You know it's not like that. You and mom deserve to live your life and stop worrying so much about us,” my mom said.

My grandparents became over-protecting when I was born. We used to live with them until recently. My mom decided to start managing her dad's restaurants, and my grandpa was more than happy to see her taking over our family business. The most difficult part for me was that we had to move out of my grandparents' house. I've lived in that house for seven years, I grew with them. That was a sacrifice we had to make since our new home is in the city center and very close to the restaurants.

The doorbell rang and brought me out of my reverie. My mom rushed to open the door, while I pouted.

“Don't worry, angel, we will always be here for you,” my grandpa whispered to me, and I nodded slightly relieved by his words.

Ms. Stewarts proved to be another excellent candidate. She had graduated from a well-known university as a psychologist, but she loved children so much, and that's why she was working as a babysitter. Her Reference Letters praised her for being very loving and caring towards the kids. She could teach me French and piano, and of course, help me with my school assignments. Besides, all these I didn't like her. There was something about her that scared me.

After a while, we decided to head to my room and show her what I enjoy doing in my free time. She stared at the paintings hanging around the room with awe.

“These are beautiful. Did you paint them?”

I nodded while my mom explained that I used to paint a lot in my free time.

I've created many paintings for a seven years old kid. My grandparents' basement was full of my watercolor or oil canvas that we can't hang on the walls, since most of them are full.

“You must be very talented. I haven't seen such lovely paintings and drawings from a kid in your age before,” she commented and walked to the easel to see my ongoing painting. Her eyes widened, and she became paler than usual.

“Are you alright?” my mom asked but she simply nodded, her eyes fixed at the jewelry box I had drawn.

Suddenly images of people I hadn't seen before came into my mind, and I could hear them speaking or yelling. I closed my eyes and tried to understand what they were saying…

“Honey, did you see my diamond earrings?”

“I can't find my golden necklace. It isn't in my vanity.”

“I swear, I left my watch on the nightstand. Where on earth is it now?”

“Someone took it!”

“Someone stole them!”

“We have to call the police!”

The voices in my head kept going, but I couldn't comprehend them anymore. One thing was certain; someone had stolen these jewelry pieces. And my gut told me that, this someone was in front of me right now.

“Ophelia? Oh my, you're bleeding…” my mom exclaimed and frantically tried to find a tissue in the room.

“Mother, I'm okay. My nose's bleeding.”

“Can I do something for you?” Ms. Stewarts asked only to receive a glare from me.

“I can handle myself, mom. Why don't you accompany Ms. Stewarts downstairs and I'll join you shortly.”

My mum looked hesitant but finally did as I said her. I'm sure she understood that I had one of these visions again. I took my time into the bathroom; I stopped the bleeding and clear the bloodstains from my face and hands.

As soon as I joined them, all eyes fell on me. My mom looked concerned.

“It's all good. What did I miss?” I said cheerfully, and my grandpa looked at me with a dark expression. He could sense when something was wrong.

Shortly after Ms. Stewarts left, I sighed with relief. My mom and my grandma took the utensils to the kitchen, and once there were all set, they joined us back in the living room.

“Ophelia, I think it's time to explain to us what happened up there,” my grandpa told me, and I knew that I couldn't avoid the truth any longer.

“I had a vision. I think she's a thief. The jewelry I draw are the same with the ones she stole from her previous employer,” I said with a steady voice.

My grandpa narrowed his eyes and all of a sudden looked more serious than before. “Are you sure?” he asked one more time. I nodded my head in response. “Very well. I think I have to make an important conversation with the Police Chief.”

“The nanny's hunt isn't over yet…” my mom sighed, and my grandpa chuckled.

“I actually might like one of the ladies we've already met.”

“Really? You should have told us before, little angel.”

“Mom seemed unsatisfied, so I thought it was better not to say anything.”

“You have to learn to trust your instinct, Ophelia. And trust us, too,” my mom told me and kissed the top of my head.

Eventually, my babysitter was decided to be Maria, a sweet and bubbly twenty-one years old girl. She was trying to earn money to finish her studies. She helped me study for school, we took long strolls at the nearby parks, we play all kinds of board games. She was always coming up with interesting ways to teach me geography or history. She knew that I love painting, so she helped me get better. We found books and online classes that explained different painting technics, she helped me learn a lot about Art's History and took me to many museums and exhibitions.

We were close since we spend together three or four afternoons every week until I turned to be eleven years old. My mom and my grandparents were with me all the other times. I love them and I know they love me, too, unconditionally. That's what family means to me. I have to admit that the absence of a paternal figure troubled me a lot. And at the same time made me value the family I already had.

A few months after that pleasant meeting with Ms. Stewarts my grandfather heard from the Chief. It turned out that Ms. Stewarts was one of this woman's fake identities. She used to make the perfect façade and lure parents or housewives to hire her either as a babysitter or as a housekeeper. She did everything to gain her employers' trust, and she'd steal their jewelry without them notice. Then, she sold them to the black market. The woman was clever enough to always change her identity, and she even moved to a different city when the Police suspected her.

I was sure that my grandpa did more than what he admitted to us, or at least to me, in this case. He never told me how the detectives managed to catch the woman before she disappears again.

It took me a few years to learn about my true identity and my family's secret. When I finally discover the truth, all these questions were solved, but new ones were born…