CHAPTER 12: UNDER HIS PROTECTION
846 Words
The threatening note remained on Mackenzie's kitchen table long after midnight.
She had read it countless times.
The closer you get to Kelvin Lawson, the shorter your future becomes.
She wanted to believe it was a cruel joke.
But deep inside...
She knew it wasn't.
Someone had deliberately found her.
Someone wanted her frightened.
She picked up her phone several times, thinking about calling Kelvin.
Each time...
She put it back down.
"What am I even supposed to say?" she whispered.
The next morning...
Lawson Manor.
The atmosphere inside the mansion was unusually tense.
Damien stood before Kelvin with the threatening note spread across the desk.
"Our men recovered the original envelope."
"No fingerprints."
"No DNA."
Kelvin remained silent.
"The bookstore owner?"
"He never saw the sender's face."
Kelvin slowly closed the file.
"Ricardo is careful."
Damien nodded.
"Very."
Kelvin looked toward the rain-soaked gardens outside.
"He wants Mackenzie to panic."
"But that's not going to happen."
He turned.
"Arrange additional security."
"No one approaches her without my knowledge."
"Yes, Boss."
Meanwhile...
Mackenzie tried to focus on work.
The Lawson charity gala was only two days away.
Florists were calling.
Designers were requesting changes.
Suppliers needed confirmation.
Normally, she would have enjoyed the challenge.
Today...
Every unfamiliar face made her uneasy.
Every unexpected sound made her look over her shoulder.
Sophia noticed immediately.
"You haven't smiled all morning."
Mackenzie hesitated.
Then she handed her the note.
Sophia's expression changed.
"This isn't funny."
"I know."
"Have you gone to the police?"
Mackenzie sighed.
"They'll ask who would threaten me."
"And I don't have an answer."
Sophia reached across the table and squeezed her hand.
"You're not dealing with this alone."
That afternoon...
As Mackenzie left a fabric showroom carrying several sample books, she noticed a little girl crying near the edge of a busy road.
People walked past without stopping.
Without hesitation, Mackenzie hurried over.
"Hey, sweetheart."
The little girl looked up with tear-filled eyes.
"I can't find my mommy."
"It's okay."
"We'll find her together."
She knelt beside the child, gently brushing away her tears.
Just then...
A delivery truck came speeding around the corner.
The little girl instinctively stepped toward the road.
"Mia!"
A woman's desperate scream echoed through the street.
Without thinking...
Mackenzie lunged forward, grabbing the little girl and pulling her safely back onto the sidewalk.
The truck thundered past.
Only inches away.
The little girl burst into tears.
"It's alright," Mackenzie whispered, holding her close.
A frantic woman rushed over and hugged her daughter tightly.
"Thank you!"
"I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't..."
Mackenzie smiled.
"I'm just glad she's safe."
She never noticed the black SUV parked across the street.
Inside...
Damien lowered his binoculars.
He quietly smiled.
"Boss was right."
One of the guards looked confused.
"About what?"
Damien watched as Mackenzie comforted the frightened child.
"She protects people."
"Even when no one's protecting her."
That evening...
Kelvin listened as Damien gave his report.
"So she risked herself to save a child."
"Yes."
Kelvin's expression softened.
"That's exactly what she would do."
Damien folded his arms.
"You sound certain."
"I am."
Kelvin walked toward the large windows.
"People reveal who they truly are when they don't think anyone is watching."
"And Mackenzie..."
He looked out over the glittering skyline of Noctis.
"...has the kindest heart I've ever seen."
For a brief moment...
The feared Devil of Valestia didn't look like a mafia boss.
He looked like a man quietly falling in love.
Elsewhere...
Ricardo DeLuca stood on the balcony of his seaside estate.
One of his lieutenants approached.
"Boss."
"The note frightened her."
Ricardo smiled faintly.
"Good."
"But..."
The lieutenant hesitated.
"Lawson has doubled her protection."
Ricardo laughed.
"You still don't understand Kelvin."
The man frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Ricardo looked toward the dark ocean.
"The more he protects her..."
"The more he'll expose his weaknesses."
He turned.
"And when the time is right..."
His smile disappeared.
"...I'll take away the only thing he truly cares about."
Late that night...
Mackenzie stood on her apartment balcony, unable to sleep.
The city lights stretched endlessly before her.
She wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.
"I wish I knew what was happening..."
she whispered.
At that exact moment...
A black luxury car slowed to a stop on the opposite side of the street.
Kelvin stepped out.
He had just returned from a meeting nearby.
He looked up.
Their eyes met across the quiet street.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them moved.
For a few peaceful seconds...
The noise of the city disappeared.
Kelvin gave her the smallest nod.
Not as a mafia boss.
Not as a billionaire.
Simply as a man making sure she was safe.
Mackenzie found herself smiling.
A genuine smile.
And for the first time since receiving the threat...
She felt... safe.
Kelvin returned the faintest smile before getting back into his car.
He drove away without a word.
Watching from her balcony, Mackenzie placed a hand over her heart.
She couldn't explain it.
But somehow...
She knew he hadn't been there by coincidence.
- Writer
