Someone Is Watching
714 Words
CHAPTER 7📖
The black SUV remained parked across the street long after the lights in Seraphina’s apartment went out.
Inside the vehicle, a man sat in the darkness, watching the building through a pair of binoculars.
“Target confirmed,” he muttered into his phone.
A distorted voice answered from the other end.
“Good. Do not approach yet. Just observe.”
The man shifted in his seat.
“And the boy?”
“Especially the boy.”
The call ended.
Across the street, Seraphina’s apartment stood quiet and peaceful.
But danger had already arrived.
Inside the apartment, Seraphina sat at the kitchen table long after Adrian had fallen asleep.
The warning call echoed in her mind.
Keep a closer eye on your son.
Her fingers tightened around her tea cup.
Someone knew.
Or at least suspected.
And if Lucien was already investigating Adrian…
The situation could spiral out of control.
Seraphina stood and walked toward Adrian’s bedroom.
The door creaked slightly as she pushed it open.
Moonlight spilled across the small room.
Adrian slept peacefully, hugging his favorite dinosaur plushie.
Seraphina’s heart softened instantly.
Five years.
Five years of protecting him from the world that destroyed her family.
She brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” she whispered softly.
But even as she said the words, a deep unease settled in her chest.
Because powerful enemies never played fair.
The next morning, the feeling of being watched didn’t disappear.
It followed her everywhere.
When she dropped Adrian at school.
When she drove to work.
Even when she walked through the lobby of her company.
Her instincts screamed danger.
Years of surviving alone had sharpened those instincts.
And they had never been wrong before.
By noon, Seraphina had already called a private security firm.
“Discreet protection,” she told the manager. “For my son.”
“Any specific threat, ma’am?”
Seraphina hesitated.
Too many threats.
Too many unknowns.
“Just precaution,” she replied.
Across the city, Lucien sat in his office, reviewing reports when Marco entered quickly.
“We have a problem.”
Lucien didn’t look up.
“Explain.”
Marco placed a tablet on the desk.
Lucien’s eyes darkened when the screen lit up.
Photographs.
Adrian.
Leaving school.
Holding Seraphina’s hand.
Playing in the park.
Someone had been following the boy for days.
Lucien’s voice dropped dangerously.
“Where did these come from?”
“They were sent anonymously to the company email.”
Lucien’s jaw tightened.
Someone was baiting him.
Someone knew the boy mattered.
But how?
He stood slowly, tension rolling off him like a storm about to break.
“Find out who sent them.”
Marco nodded.
“We’re already tracing it.”
Lucien’s gaze lingered on the photo of Adrian smiling in the sunlight.
A strange emotion twisted in his chest.
Protective.
Possessive.
Dangerous.
He didn’t even know if the child was his yet.
But the thought of someone stalking the boy filled him with a cold, violent anger.
Whoever was behind this had already made a fatal mistake.
That evening, Seraphina arrived at Adrian’s school earlier than usual.
Something felt wrong.
Too quiet.
Too still.
The security guard at the gate looked distracted.
Seraphina’s pulse quickened.
“Is everything alright?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied casually.
But as she walked toward the playground, her heart began pounding harder.
The swings moved slightly in the wind.
Children were laughing in the distance.
But Adrian wasn’t there.
Her stomach dropped.
She turned to the teacher standing nearby.
“Where is Adrian?”
The teacher frowned slightly.
“His uncle picked him up fifteen minutes ago.”
Seraphina felt the world tilt.
“My… what?”
The teacher looked confused.
“He said you sent him.”
Seraphina’s blood ran cold.
“I don’t have a brother.”
At that exact moment, across the city
Lucien’s phone rang.
Marco’s voice came through urgently.
“Sir… we just traced the anonymous photos.”
Lucien’s eyes narrowed.
“And?”
Marco hesitated.
“They were taken from the street outside Seraphina’s apartment.”
Lucien stood slowly.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning the person watching the boy…”
Marco’s voice tightened.
“…is still there.”
- Writer
