My husband hired an 18-year-old babysitter for our little daughter — everything seemed per

My husband hired an 18-year-old babysitter for our little daughter — everything seemed perfect until she pointed at the nanny on her birthday and called her a “monster.” Emily was the child Darren and I had prayed for years to have. Yet his long hours and my double shifts made us miss too many dinners and bedtime stories. “We need help,” Darren said. “Let me find someone we can trust. A babysitter.” I hesitated, but three days later, he brought home Paige. She was a soft-spoken 18-year-old with a folder of references. “A coworker recommended her,” Darren said. “She’s exactly what Emily needs.” Paige knelt beside our 8-year-old and asked to see her drawings. Soon, they were building a blanket fort. Darren smiled. “See? I told you she was wonderful.” He kept praising Paige after that. She was “incredibly patient,” “more responsible than most adults,” and “a natural with children.” “We’re so lucky we found you,” he often told her. I agreed. Paige came early, cleaned up without being asked, and sent me photos of Emily laughing over star-shaped pancakes. My daughter seemed happy, and that was what mattered. When we planned Emily’s birthday, Darren insisted we invite Paige. “She’s practically family now.” So we invited our relatives, Emily’s friends, their parents, and Paige. Paige had helped me prepare for the party, so I rose from the table and made a toast in her honor, saying how grateful I was that she had come into our lives. Just then, Emily suddenly stood up on her chair and pointed her little finger directly at Paige across the table. “She’s a monster,” Emily said clearly. The laughter stopped. Paige turned so white that even her freckles seemed to disappear. “Sweetheart, that’s a terrible thing to say,” I began. Before I could say anything else, Darren slammed his palm against the table. The plates jumped. “Apologize to Paige!” he shouted. “She does everything for you, and this is how you repay her? You ungrateful little brat!” I had never heard him speak to Emily that way. But what she did next surprised me even more. She clenched both fists and cried, “You’re being mean, Daddy! I’m telling Mommy what you and Paige do when she’s not home!”