CHAPTER 6 — THE MAN IN THE BLACK SUV
CHAPTER 6 — THE MAN IN THE BLACK SUV
Victor was already moving before the head of security finished speaking.
The warmth that had briefly softened his face vanished.
In its place returned the man newspapers called untouchable.
Cold.
Decisive.
Dangerously calm.
He pressed the radio to his mouth.
"Lock the gates."
"Already done, Boss."
"No one enters."
"No one leaves."
"Yes, sir."
The library filled with quiet urgency as security cameras switched across the wall of monitors.
Front gate.
Side entrance.
Garden.
East fence.
The black SUV remained parked across the road, engine idling in the rain.
It didn't move.
It didn't need to.
Whoever sat inside had already made their point.
Serena stood beside Victor, staring at the screen.
"Could it be reporters?"
Victor didn't answer immediately.
"They usually don't hide."
"So..."
"So whoever that is..."
He kept watching the monitor.
"...isn't interested in photographs for tomorrow's newspaper."
A chill ran through Serena.
Within seconds, three security vehicles rolled silently toward the front gate.
The SUV reacted immediately.
Its headlights flashed on.
Then it accelerated away into the rain.
"Follow."
Victor ordered.
"But don't engage."
The security chief acknowledged.
Three black vehicles disappeared after it.
The monitor showed only an empty road.
Serena exhaled slowly.
"Is this normal?"
Victor looked at her.
"For my life?"
A humorless smile.
"Unfortunately."
"For your children?"
His smile disappeared.
"No."
That single word carried far more weight.
Upstairs, the boys slept peacefully.
Unaware.
Serena looked toward the ceiling.
"They can't wake up to this."
"They won't."
Victor's voice was absolute.
"I've spent years making sure they never see this part of my world."
Serena hesitated.
"But they feel it."
Victor looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"They may not know why there are guards."
"They may not understand business."
"They may never hear certain conversations."
She paused.
"But children always know when the adults around them are afraid."
Victor had no answer.
Because she was right.
Again.
A phone vibrated inside Victor's jacket.
One glance at the screen changed his expression.
He answered immediately.
"Speak."
The conversation lasted less than thirty seconds.
When he hung up, Serena noticed something unexpected.
Not anger.
Concern.
"What happened?"
"Our people caught the SUV."
"And?"
"It wasn't one of our rivals."
She frowned.
"Then who?"
Victor looked directly at her.
"It belongs to a licensed private investigation firm."
Serena felt her stomach drop.
"No..."
Victor nodded once.
"The same firm your ex-husband hired."
Silence.
She could barely breathe.
"He had someone watching..."
"My children."
Victor corrected quietly.
"And you."
Serena's knees weakened.
She sank into the nearest chair.
"He wouldn't..."
Victor didn't interrupt.
"He wouldn't use your sons..."
She whispered.
"...would he?"
Victor answered with brutal honesty.
"If someone believes gathering evidence helps them win in court..."
He stopped.
"They often stop asking where the line is."
Tears filled Serena's eyes.
"I only came here today."
"I know."
"He found me already?"
Victor nodded.
"Which means he wasn't looking for this address."
He leaned forward.
"He was following you."
The realization hit like ice water.
The photographs of her apartment.
The bus stop.
The courthouse.
Now this mansion.
She hadn't escaped surveillance.
She had unknowingly led it somewhere else.
"I'm leaving."
She stood abruptly.
Victor frowned.
"What?"
"I can't stay here."
"You just got the job."
"And now I've brought danger to your family."
She grabbed her worn purse.
"I won't do that."
Victor stepped between her and the door.
"You didn't bring danger."
"I literally did."
"No."
His voice remained calm.
"The danger belongs to the man who created it."
She shook her head.
"If I leave tonight—"
"He'll keep following you."
She froze.
Victor continued.
"If you walk out that gate alone..."
"He wins."
Serena closed her eyes.
She hated how logical he sounded.
"My daughter..."
"Where is she?"
"With my friend Elena."
"Address?"
Serena hesitated.
Victor noticed.
"You think I'm asking because I don't trust you."
"A little."
"I'm asking because if someone is watching you..."
His voice became frighteningly steady.
"...we need to make sure they're not watching Lucia too."
Every ounce of color left Serena's face.
Lucia.
She reached for her phone with shaking hands.
Three missed calls.
Two messages.
From Elena.
Her heart nearly stopped.
She opened the first one.
Call me when you can.
The second.
A man came by asking questions about Lucia.
The room spun.
"No..."
Victor caught the phone before it slipped from her hand.
Serena immediately called.
The phone rang once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then—
"Serena?"
Elena sounded breathless.
"What happened?"
"There was a man."
"What man?"
"He said he worked for family services."
Serena's blood ran cold.
"He showed identification."
"He asked whether Lucia lived here."
"What did you tell him?"
"I said she was sleeping."
"And?"
"I told him to leave."
Serena gripped the edge of the table.
"Did he?"
"...Eventually."
Victor quietly held out his hand.
"May I?"
She handed him the phone.
His tone changed instantly.
Professional.
Controlled.
"Elena?"
"Yes?"
"My name is Victor Rinaldi."
A brief silence.
"I need you to listen carefully."
He asked for the address.
Confirmed nearby landmarks.
Then said only one sentence.
"My security team will arrive in under fifteen minutes."
He ended the call.
Serena stared at him.
"You don't even know her."
"I don't have to."
"You just sent armed men to protect my daughter."
"I sent trained professionals."
She blinked.
"Why?"
Victor looked almost surprised by the question.
"Because she's a child."
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Across the room, Enzo had been standing silently near the doorway for several minutes.
No one had noticed him.
He slowly stepped inside.
"I've already dispatched two additional teams."
Victor looked at his father.
"You did?"
"I may disagree with your methods."
Enzo glanced toward Serena.
"But I won't allow someone to terrorize a little girl."
For the first time that evening...
Father and son stood on the same side of something.
The library door suddenly burst open.
Marco stood there, breathing hard.
His hair was a mess from sleep.
His stuffed wolf hung loosely from one hand.
Behind him stood Nico, Alessandro, and Tommy.
"Dad..."
Marco whispered.
"We heard the radios."
Victor immediately crossed the room.
"You should be in bed."
Marco ignored the instruction.
"Is somebody coming?"
"No."
Victor answered gently.
"Everything's under control."
Marco searched his father's face.
Children always knew.
He looked toward Serena.
Then quietly asked,
"Is Miss Serena leaving?"
The room fell silent.
Serena forced herself to smile.
"I..."
She couldn't finish.
Marco's shoulders slumped.
"I knew it."
Nico lowered his head.
Alessandro clutched his blanket tighter.
Tommy stared at the floor.
They had seen this before.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Adults always left.
Serena felt something inside her break.
Not loudly.
Quietly.
Like thread stretched too far.
She walked toward the boys.
Knelt until she was eye level.
"I need you to hear me."
Four pairs of eyes lifted.
"I haven't decided anything."
Marco swallowed.
"They all said that."
Serena's heart ached.
"They all left anyway."
She gently placed a hand over his small fist.
"I'm not making promises I can't keep."
Marco nodded slowly.
He appreciated honesty.
Even painful honesty.
"But..."
She continued softly.
"I'm also not walking away because life became difficult."
Tommy stepped forward first.
"So..."
His tiny voice barely rose above a whisper.
"...you'll come back tomorrow?"
Serena looked into four hopeful faces.
Before she could answer—
Victor spoke.
Clear.
Certain.
Leaving no room for doubt.
"She won't need to."
Everyone turned toward him.
Including Serena.
Victor met her eyes.
"If she'll accept the position..."
He paused.
"...starting tonight, Serena and her daughter will live here."
The room became utterly silent.
Even Serena forgot how to breathe.
Victor looked at her with the same calm certainty she had shown his sons earlier that evening.
"You needed a safe home."
He glanced at the boys.
"They need someone who stays."
Then he added the one sentence neither of them had expected.
"And perhaps..."
For the first time in years...
His voice sounded less like a mafia boss...
May you like
And more like a father asking for help.
"...perhaps all six of us need a chance to become a family again."
