Chapter 7 - Nico Took the One Thing I Thought I Could Protect—My Daughter’s Sense of SafetyLily had nightmares after the phone call.
She woke screaming.
“Daddy!”
I ran into her room.
She threw herself into my arms.
“He knows where we live.”
I held her tightly.
“He won't hurt you.”
“How do you know?”
Because I would kill anyone who tried.
But I couldn't say that.
Instead, I said,
“Because you're not alone anymore.”
She looked at me.
“You promise?”
“Yes.”
The next morning, I moved everyone to a safe house.
But Nico had already anticipated it.
He attacked the convoy.
The vehicles crashed.
Smoke filled the road.
I found Lily's car empty.
For three minutes, I thought I had lost her.
Then I heard her voice.
“Daddy!”
She was hiding beneath the seat.
Alive.
Terrified.
But alive.
I pulled her out.
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
“I knew you'd come.”
I closed my eyes.
That sentence changed me.
I wasn't going to fight Nico like a mafia boss anymore.
I was going to fight him like a father.
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And fathers don't negotiate with monsters who threaten their children.
They end the threat.
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