“Hannah Blake. I’m the cleaning woman. I didn’t know you were coming back today.”
He looked down at Sophie.
“This child is yours?”
“Yes.”
“She was crying alone,” he said softly.
“I’m sorry,” Hannah whispered. “She’s sick. I had no one to watch her. Please don’t fire me.”
The man studied the baby.
“How old?”
“Eight months.”
He closed his eyes briefly.
“My son would be eight months old now,” he murmured. “If he had lived.”
He handed Sophie back to Hannah.
“You can bring her here whenever you need. This room is warm enough.”
Then he said his name.
“I’m Adrian Cole. This is my house.”
Hannah’s blood went cold.
Adrian Cole was rumored to be the most powerful crime boss on the East Coast.
“I need coffee,” he said calmly. “Can you make coffee?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Make some.”
As she walked toward the kitchen, he added quietly:
“Welcome to Cole Manor, Hannah.”
The next morning the housekeeper Linda Park called Hannah.
Mr. Cole wanted her to work there permanently.
Triple her previous salary.
Housing included.
Hannah accepted immediately.
She and Sophie moved into the mansion. Their servant’s room felt luxurious compared to their old apartment.
But the house was filled with men in suits, security cameras, and armored cars.
One night she overheard Adrian speaking to his brother Daniel.
“A rival touched my shipment,” Adrian said coldly.
Daniel replied, “They think you’ve gone soft.”
Adrian laughed quietly. “They’ll learn who runs this city.”
Hannah accidentally bumped into a chair.
Adrian appeared in the doorway.
“What did you hear?”
“Enough to know who you are.”
“And?”
“You haven’t hurt me or my daughter.”
He nodded once.
“You’re safe here. No one touches what belongs to me.”
Weeks passed.
Adrian often appeared during Sophie’s feeding times, watching quietly.
One night he stood outside the nursery.
“My wife Claire died,” he whispered. “Our son Lucas too. A rival gang killed them.”
Hannah placed a hand on his shoulder.
“That wasn’t your fault.”
“I was supposed to protect them.”
“No one can protect the people they love from everything.”
He rested his head against her shoulder.
Two lonely people sharing grief.
One afternoon Hannah ran into Ryan while returning from the grocery store.
He chased her into an alley.
“You thought you could hide?” he sneered.
He attacked her, choking and beating her.
Darkness began to close in.
Suddenly Ryan was pulled away by two men in black.