I watched him walk off, his voice low and sharp as he spoke into the phone. And for the first time, I saw the man everyone else feared.
It was Tuesday afternoon when my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number. I almost didn’t open it. I’d gotten good at ignoring strange calls and texts after blocking DeAndre, but something made me click on it.
The photo loaded slowly. My stomach dropped. It was Nikia walking out of her school, backpack on, holding her teacher’s hand. Taken that day—I recognized the outfit she’d worn that morning.
Below the photo, a message: You think he can protect you forever?
My hand started shaking so badly I almost dropped the phone. I immediately called Young Chul. He answered on the first ring.
“Adrien.”
“Someone sent me a picture of Nikia from today outside her school,” I said. My voice cracked. “They’re watching her.”
“Forward me the message right now.”
I did, my fingers fumbling over the screen.
“Stay where you are,” he said, his voice deadly calm. “I’m sending someone to your office. Don’t leave until they arrive.”
“What about Nikia? She’s still at school.”
“I’m handling it. She won’t be alone for one second. I promise you.”
He hung up.
Twenty minutes later, a man in a dark suit walked into the dental office. Dr. Patel looked concerned, but I quickly explained I needed to leave. The man didn’t speak. He just walked me to my car and followed me to Nikia’s school.
When I got there, two more of Young Chul’s men were already positioned outside—one near the front entrance, one by the playground.
I practically ran inside to Nikia’s classroom. She was sitting at her desk, coloring, completely unaware.
“Mommy!” She jumped up and hugged me. “Why are you here early?”
“I just wanted to see you, baby.”
That evening, Young Chul came to my apartment. He sat down across from me while one of his men stood guard outside my door.
“DeAndre’s been making calls from prison,” he said. “Trying to intimidate you through people on the outside.”
“Can they do something? The police?”
“They can investigate, but investigations take time. I don’t have time.” His jaw tightened. “I’m going to handle this myself.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the people threatening you will understand very clearly that touching you or Nikia will be the last mistake they ever make.”
