Marked by her Billionaire

CHAPTER EIGHT

FAULTY LINES

JAKE’S POV

I first noticed an odd thing on a Tuesday morning.

It wasn't anything dramatic that needed to raise alarms. It was just a little delay that did not last for more than three seconds. Most people wouldn't have caught it, but I did.

I paused the footage, rewinded it, and then played it again at half speed. A black SUV had rolled past the gate, slowed down, and then continued down the road. It had no plate number, it was tinted and it looked like a new vehicle.

I pulled up the last two weeks of recordings and I noticed it.

The same vehicle had been here but on a different day and it did the same thing. It never stayed long enough for it to catch anyone’s attention.

It was then that it hit me.

Someone was mapping my house perimeter.

I leaned back into my chair, my jaw tight. It had been months since someone had been this careful. People knew that anyone reckless enough to circle my estate without an invitation usually didn't make it out alive.

Which meant that this wasn’t random, someone was doing something.

I watched through more footage and I could see the clear patterns. Someone was testing my defenses and they were one patient motherfuckers to be doing this for three weeks.

I picked up my phone and dialed a number. “Jasper,” I said when he picked up.

“I'm listening.” He answered. He was my right-hand man and friend right from the old days.

“Double the perimeter checks, rotate the guards randomly with no routine. I want eyes on the road every hour.”

There was a pause before he answered. “Is there a problem?”

“Not yet…”

“Understood…”

“And Jasper,” I added, already knowing his next question. ”There is no explanation, not to the staff or even to Victoria.”

He exhaled at the sound of her name. “Got it.”

I ended the call and closed the security dashboard, my reflection faint in the dark screen. I didn't like how familiar all this felt. I hadn't felt unhinged like this in months….not since I had buried the last remnants of my former life.

Apparently, it wasn't buried deep enough.

I left my office and headed downstairs. I needed a distraction.

Sophia’s laughter floated in from the garden before I saw her. She looked and sounded light and free. The sound hit me the same way every time.

Lexi sat on the bench beside her, her knees angled inward with her attention fully on Sophia as she pushed a toy car back and forth between them. She smiled at something Sophia said, the kind of smile that was fake.

It twisted something in me.

Sophia leaned into her, absent-minded like it was just normal and Lexi was always going to be there.

I should have felt relief but I could feel guilt creeping in.

I had brought danger into this house before, and I had sworn that Sophia would never be put in that situation again.

Lexi looked up, sensing me. Our eyes met for a brief moment. She straightened up out of respect. The line I had drawn was clear and it still stood.

That was good, and necessary.

Still, I didn't miss the way her shoulders tightened, like she was bracing for impact.

Sophia spotted me and waved. “Daddy!”

I waved back, forcing a smile. “Hey, sweetheart."

She went back to her game, looking satisfied with my response. I stayed where I was, watching–the way Lexi stayed alert even while she was playing with Sophia. She didn't know it, but she had already adjusted to living inside a threat radius.

That bothered me more than it should have.

I took my water and left.

That evening, Victoria found me. She always did when something was going her way.

“You look like you have been tense all day.” She said, crossing her arms in the living room. “What’s going on?”

“Work,” I said dismissively.

She scoffed. “You always say that.”

“And it is always true.” I poured my drink down my throat, letting the burn make me feel something other than worry.

She moved closer to me on the couch. “I can see that you’ve increased security and the guards are rotating. I checked…and the camera has been recalibrated. Don't insult me by pretending I wouldn't notice.”

I didn't respond, making a mental note to remove Victoria’s access to my security control room.

Her eyes narrowed. “You are being paranoid.”

I met her gaze, “I am being careful.”

She came closer, her hands on my chest. “About what?” She pressed. “Or who?”

I know where she was steering this to, so I tried to shut it down. “This has nothing to do with Lexi,” I said flatly.

“You sure?” She challenged me. “Because ever since that b***h showed up, you have been on edge. You have been distant and shutting people out.”

I rolled my eyes, taking a puff out of my cigarette. “I have always been distant.”

She laughed. “ya, but not like this.”

I didn't say anything else. Explaining would mean reopening doors that I had shut down.

She shook her head. “You are letting ghosts run your life, Jake, again.”

She might be right but ghosts don't leave tire tracks.

Victoria left shortly after. She was annoyed and unconvinced that nothing was happening. I didn't stop her.

Later that night, I went back to the office. I pulled up the footage again. It was the same SUV, but at a different angle with no plate.

Whoever it was might have known my past. And that meant they knew how I responded to the threat. So all of these were about timing.

I closed the files and leaned forward, with my elbow on the desk. My pulse was steady, but my instincts were loud. Someone was waiting for me to make a mistake.

And I wouldn't. But I had to accept something I didn't like.

Sophia and Lexi were part of this equation now, and if someone was watching my estate, my patterns, then they were also watching people who were close to me.

The realization settled heavily on my chest.

I had felt this kind of threat for months.