Chapter 5
For the next two weeks, Luca came every day.
He arrived at nine sharp and left at seven.
Never a minute early. Never a minute late.
He never pushed for more.
Never asked to stay the night.
Never tried to kiss me or touch me beyond a quick, respectful hug.
He was just… there.
He taught Ash to throw a baseball in the park across the street.
He sat through three hours of Lena’s “art show” where every picture was a variation of a purple unicorn.
He fixed the leaky faucet in the bathroom that I’d been ignoring for a year.
He brought groceries. Paid the rent for six months in advance when Mrs. Pike mentioned I’d been struggling.
I tried to pay him back.
He refused.
“Let me take care of my family,” he said simply.
My family.
The words hung in the air between us.
Heavy. Meaningful.
The twins adored him.
Lena woke up every morning asking, “Is Daddy coming today?”
Ash started leaving his block towers out “so Daddy can help me make them taller.”
They called him Daddy now.
Not Luca. Not the sad man.
Daddy.
And every time they said it, I saw something in Luca’s chest heal a little more.
But I was still careful.
I kept my walls up.
I slept with my bedroom door locked every night.
I never let him be alone with the twins for more than a few minutes.
Old habits.
Old fears.
Then came the text.
Unknown number.
I was in the kitchen making sandwiches when my phone buzzed.
I picked it up.
The message made my blood run cold.
You think you won, sister? You think taking my man and my money makes you happy? Let’s see how happy you are when I take what’s mine.
Vanessa.
My hands shook so hard I dropped the knife I was holding.
It clattered onto the cutting board.
Luca was in the living room with the twins. He heard the sound and was in the kitchen in two steps.
“Sarah? What’s wrong?”
I handed him the phone.
He read the text.
His face went from concerned to furious in half a second.
I’d never seen him look like that.
Not even during the worst business deals.
This was personal.
Primal.
“I told her to stay away,” he growled. “I paid her. I gave her everything she asked for. I made it clear—”
“Obviously it wasn’t enough.”
He pulled out his own phone and started dialing.
“Who are you calling?”
“My security team. I’m putting a twenty-four-hour watch on this building. On you. On the kids. No one gets within a hundred feet without my say-so.”
“Luca, we live in a tiny town. People will notice. They’ll talk.”
“Let them talk. I don’t care. Nothing matters except keeping you three safe.”
He made the calls.
His voice was cold. Authoritative. The voice of the man the newspapers called ruthless.
Within an hour, two unmarked cars were parked at either end of the street.
Men in dark suits sat in them, watching.
The twins didn’t notice.
But Mrs. Pike did.
She came up the stairs that afternoon, her eyes wide.
“Sarah, honey? Is everything okay? There are men with earpieces outside my bakery.”
I looked at Luca.
He nodded.
“Mrs. Pike,” I said. “This is Luca. The twins’ father. We’re having some… family issues. He’s just making sure we’re safe.”
Mrs. Pike looked from me to Luca.
She studied him for a long moment.
Then she nodded.
“Good. A woman and her babies need protecting. You do whatever you have to, young man. And if any of those men want coffee or a roll, you send them down. On the house.”
Luca actually smiled.
“Thank you, Mrs. Pike. I appreciate that.”
She left, and Luca turned back to me.
“She won’t get near them,” he promised. “I swear to you, Sarah. She will never touch our children.”
But I was already thinking.
Vanessa was unstable.
She’d proven that three years ago.
And now she knew where we were.
She knew about the twins.
She had nothing left to lose.
That night, after the twins were asleep, Luca didn’t leave.
He sat on the couch in the dark, staring at the door.
“You should go home,” I said, bringing him a glass of whiskey.
“This is my home now.” He took the glass but didn’t drink. “Wherever you and the kids are, that’s home. I’m not leaving you alone tonight. Not after that text.”
I didn’t argue.
I sat down beside him.
We sat in silence for a long time.
Watching the streetlights through the window.
Listening to the twins breathing down the hall.
“Luca?”
“Hmm?”
“What did she mean — your money? Did you give her a lot?”
He sighed.
“Two million dollars. A house in Boca. A new identity. Everything she asked for, in exchange for her signing papers promising never to contact us again.”
“Two million?” I whistled. “That’s a lot of money to throw away.”
“Not if it kept you safe. It was worth every penny. Until now.”
“Why do you think she came back?”
“Because it was never about the money.” He stared into his glass. “It was about hurting you. She wanted to see you broken. And when she found out I’d found you… that we were building a family again… she couldn’t stand it. Your happiness is the one thing she can’t buy. So she’s going to try to destroy it.”
I shivered.
Luca put his arm around me.
Just a gentle pull.
Comforting. Protective.
I didn’t pull away.
I leaned into him.
For the first time in three years, I let myself feel safe in his arms.
“I’m scared,” I whispered.
“I know. But you don’t have to be. I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere. Not ever again.”
He kissed the top of my head.
His lips were warm against my hair.
And for a moment, just a moment, everything felt right.
But the moment shattered at three a.m.
A loud crash from the living room window.
Glass shattering.
The twins screamed from their bedroom.
Luca was on his feet before the sound even finished echoing.
“Stay here!” he ordered, already running toward the noise.
I ran to the twins’ room.
They were both sitting up in bed, crying, terrified.
I grabbed them, holding them against my chest, covering their heads with my body.
“Shhh. It’s okay. Mama’s here. Daddy’s here. We’re safe.”
But I didn’t know if we were.
I heard Luca’s voice. Loud. Angry.
Then another voice.
Female.
May you like
Familiar.
Vanessa.
