Chapter 109

"What's going on, Sophia?"

We hardly ever talk. Most of our exchanges are brief—just a message here and there. Usually, it's him letting me know he's sent a package, and me thanking him for it.

I know it's risky, but right now, he's the only one I can turn to. I won’t lie—that second note terrified me.

"I need your help, Damian," I say bluntly. No point in small talk. Besides, from what I’ve gathered about him, he isn’t the type for pleasantries.

It took me a while to muster the courage to call him. I debated whether to go to the police or reach out to him. In the end, logic won. The last time I was in danger, the police couldn’t help. Damian, on the other hand, had known everything before I did.

Maybe he could help me figure out who was after me.

"Alright, what is it?" he asks, curiosity lacing his voice. Probably because I’ve never asked him for anything before.

"Someone’s targeting me."

"Oh, is this about those notes you’ve been getting?"

I’m stunned, but not entirely surprised. See? This is exactly why I thought he’d be the best person to help. He was already steps ahead.

"Yes," I reply. "Do you know who’s behind them? And how do you even know about them?"

I hold my breath, hoping he has answers. It would be even better if he was already handling the problem. After all, hadn’t he promised me his protection?

"I have my sources," he says. "I don’t know who’s behind them, but my contact says the person leaving them wears a mask and a long black coat. From what he’s gathered, he thinks it’s a woman."

I wrack my brain, trying to think of any woman who’d want to hurt me, but I come up empty. Over the past few months, I’ve angered plenty of people—Isabella being the most recent. But who would hold enough resentment to threaten me like this?

"Why didn’t your contact stop them?" I ask.

It’s a fair question. If you see a stranger leaving threatening notes, you intervene.

"He didn’t think much of it until the second note. That’s when he got suspicious."

I can’t blame him. I didn’t take the first note seriously either.

"What do the notes say?"

"Hold on. Let me send you a picture."

I snap a photo of both notes side by side and send it to him. He goes silent as he studies them.

My stomach twists at the thought of what could happen if the police ever found out about this.

Damian was still in hiding, and the authorities were still hunting him. I was taking a risk by involving him—one that could land me in prison as an accomplice.

Not that I knew where he was hiding, and we barely spoke, but I doubt that would convince a jury of my innocence.

"Looks like whoever this is has a grudge and wants to hurt you," he finally says.

"Wow, thanks for that brilliant deduction," I snap sarcastically. "I already figured that out, you know, with the whole ‘say goodbye to your loved ones’ bit."

I didn’t mean to be sharp, but fear had me on edge. Knowing someone was planning my death was terrifying. Even worse—I was pregnant. If something happened to me, my baby would be gone too. I couldn’t let that happen.

"There’s not much else I can gather," he sighs. "Who have you crossed recently? Who would want revenge? Let’s start there."

"I honestly don’t know, Damian. You seem to know everything that happens around me, so you know I’ve pissed off a lot of people lately."

"Fine. Just send me a list of names, and I’ll see what I can do. Okay?"

I nod before remembering he can’t see me. "Okay."

"Don’t worry, Sophia. We’ll find this bastard. There’s no way I’m letting them—"

I don’t move from the couch. There’s a mountain of chores waiting, but I have no energy left. Between my racing thoughts and gnawing fear, I can’t focus even if I wanted to.

I don’t know how long I sit there before I hear keys jingling, then the front door opening. Footsteps approach, and I turn to see my parents walking in, hand in hand.

I smile. Those two were so in love, they were practically inseparable. It was adorable.

"Hey," I greet them, sitting up.

Mom takes the seat beside me while Dad sits across from us.

"Hey, sweetheart," Dad says.

"Hello, my love," Mom adds.

I’ll never get used to the way they look at me—like I’m their whole world. With them, I never had to guess. Their love was written all over their faces.

"To what do I owe this visit?" I ask. "Not that I don’t love having you here."

They exchange a glance before Mom turns to me fully.

"Well, there are a few things we wanted to discuss," she says.

I nod.

"First, I want to thank you, darling," she begins, her eyes glistening. "Daniel called us yesterday. I know he’s done terrible things, but you can’t imagine how good it felt to hear his voice. He told us you encouraged him to reach out. After thinking it over, he realized he couldn’t live without family—and we are his family."

I smile. Daniel and I mostly communicate through letters. He rarely calls. I haven’t visited him since that first time, but I know that’ll change once the baby arrives. He or she deserves to know their father.

"It’s nothing, Mom."

"No, it’s everything," she insists. "Thank you. I’ve missed my son so much."

I cringe. It’s still weird hearing her call him that, considering our past. I doubt I’ll ever get used to it.

I hug her and kiss her cheek. "Anything for you guys."

We hold each other for a moment before pulling away. Dad waits until Mom dries her tears.

"What else did you want to talk about?"

He clears his throat. "Right. We want to formally introduce you to society as our daughter and heir."

I knew this was coming, but my jaw still drops.

"Are you sure?" I stammer.

I’d been putting this off for ages. They’d wanted to announce our relationship for so long, but I’d hesitated. Not because I was ashamed—I just didn’t want the scrutiny that came with being their daughter.

"Yes. It’s time," Mom says firmly. "I want the world to know you’re our child. Finding you was a blessing, and I want to share that with everyone."

I think it over. What was the point in resisting? Rumors were already swirling, especially since Liam and I had been seen with them countless times.

"Alright," I finally agree.

Mom squeals and practically tackles me in a hug. "Thank you! I’ll start planning immediately. Maybe we’ll go old-school and throw a ball in your honor."

I smile as she excitedly shares her ideas with Dad and me.

I want to feel happy. Excited. But I can’t.

Not when I still don’t know who’s threatening me.