CHAPTER 54: QUESTIONING HIS ABILITY

Sophia froze.

For a long moment, her mind went completely blank—then, slowly, the realization hit her.

If it hadn’t been for that other car—an identical Rolls-Royce that just happened to drive ahead of hers—then...

She didn’t even dare finish the thought.

Her six children had all been inside that car.

A shiver ran through her entire body, and it felt as if someone had dropped her straight into an ice cellar. Her hands wouldn’t stop trembling; her skin was cold, her blood frozen solid.

"Who did this?" she whispered.

"I have someone in mind," Lucas said, his voice dark and low. "But I can’t confirm it yet."

The first person that came to Sophia’s mind was Aiden.

Her pupils tightened. "Are you kidding me? Your uncle? That man’s willing to kill for an inheritance? What kind of monster does that?!"

Sophia, who had been raised to be a refined lady, never used crude words. But this time, the shock tore through her restraint.

"Lucas," she muttered, her face pale yet still managing a wry smile, "your situation isn’t any better than mine."

"I can’t be sure it’s him," Lucas said, though the cold anger in his voice betrayed his suspicion.

He suspected Aiden.

But suspicion wasn’t evidence.

If Aiden had really done this, he wouldn’t have left traces. No one that calculating ever did.

Sophia crossed her arms and sneered faintly. "You know, Lucas... maybe you’re thinking about it all wrong. What if he’s counting on you to think just like that? What if he’s doing the opposite—making you believe it couldn’t possibly be him?"

Lucas’s eyes darkened. "It’s not impossible."

Their conversation fell into a heavy silence.

The tension in the air thickened. Their gazes met and lingered, neither of them speaking.

Then, almost without realizing it, Lucas leaned closer.

Sophia’s heart skipped a beat. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t move.

The distance between them shrank—inch by inch—until his breath brushed her lips.

And then—

"I’m hungry," she blurted out.

Lucas blinked. "You’re what?"

"I said I’m hungry."

He stared at her. She blinked innocently, then scrambled out of bed like a startled cat and bolted for the door.

Once she was out in the hall, Sophia pressed a hand over her racing heart and took a few deep breaths.

That was close. Way too close.

Almost got seduced by the devil himself.

Get it together, Sophia. None of that was real. He’s dangerous, charming, manipulative—and absolutely off-limits.

You’ve already given him your six babies to raise; don’t you dare hand over your heart too.

She rubbed her temples, forcing her thoughts back into order, and walked toward the kids’ room.

"Mommy!"

Angela and Faye ran over first, hugging her tightly. "Mommy, are you okay?"

"I’m fine," she said softly, smiling even as her eyes turned misty. "Thank goodness you’re all safe."

Just the thought of what could’ve happened made her stomach twist. If she’d lost any of them—she couldn’t even imagine surviving that.

Billy, Charles, Dustin, and Eric all crowded around, their little faces full of worry.

"Mommy, Faye’s scared," Charles said.

Faye nodded tearfully, pressing her face against Sophia’s waist. Normally, she was fearless—the boldest of them all—but when something truly frightening happened, she was always the first to cry.

Sophia stroked her hair gently. "Don’t be afraid, sweetheart. Mommy’s here. But listen to me—all of you. Someone targeted us today. I don’t know who yet, but it wasn’t an accident. From now on, you stay home, understand? No running around with me."

Blackstone Manor’s security was far stronger than the villa’s. Leaving them there was the safest choice.

But her kids all shook their heads.

"No!" Eric protested, his little face tightening with stubbornness. "We’re not leaving you, Mommy! Wherever you go, we go!"

Sophia sighed, touched and exasperated all at once. "I know you’re worried, my darlings. But if you listen to me, I can focus on finding out who did this. Okay?"

She kissed each of them on the forehead, one by one.

"Now, sleep. Mommy will stay with you tonight."

Faye blinked up at her, whispering, "But Mommy... didn’t you tell Daddy you were going downstairs to eat?"

Sophia froze, then cleared her throat. "That—uh—that was called a tactical retreat, sweetheart. You’ll understand when you’re older."

Her threat to "sleep before the big bad wolf comes" didn’t scare them much—but they still obeyed, snuggling down under the covers.

Because to them, Mommy wasn’t just their protector.

She was their treasure, too—and they would guard her, no matter what.

Sophia had been gone a while and still hadn’t returned.

Lucas left the room to look for, "Mrs. Wilson, where’s Sophia?"

"Mister, madam never came downstairs. I think she went to the kids’ room," Mrs. Wilson replied.

Lucas frowned slightly. Great—she was playing him again.

He found Sophia asleep, curled up in the middle of a pile. The six kids were sitting in a circle, surrounding her.

"..." he said.

"You guys just admiring her perfect sleeping face?" Lucas asked, and was rewarded with seven simultaneous eye-rolls—one extra from Faye.

He stepped forward to lift her, but Faye planted herself in front of him. "Can you protect Mommy?" she demanded. "As the little daughter, I doubt your capability."

"It was an accident today," Lucas began.

"Accidents happen all the time. You couldn’t prevent today—what about tomorrow?" Faye said solemnly, hands folded as if she were an old woman worried for the family.

Lucas scooped Faye up and tucked her under his chin, pressing her nose playfully. "Be good, Faye. Daddy’s not lying."

Faye’s eyes welled up. "What’s wrong?" he asked.

"Something got in my eye—sand!" she lied, squirming free. She balled her tiny fist and warned, "If you ever bully Mommy, we’ll beat you up!"

Lucas smiled and carried Sophia out. No sooner had he taken a step than Dustin locked the door behind them.

"Billy, start the operation," Dustin ordered.

Billy pulled up the footage, hacked into the system, and queued up the day’s surveillance of South Road. He set up the projector and cast it on the wall: feeds from South Road and North Road.

"Crash at 6:47 p.m. Start from 6:00," Billy said, speeding up the playback and watching intently.

"Stop—jump back thirty-four seconds," Dustin said.

"Now back another six," Angela added.

"Billy, zoom in on the lower right corner," Dustin instructed.

There it was on the North Road feed: the truck. It had looped from North Road over to South Road.

It was a planned attack.

Billy slowed the footage. The crash replayed like a bad dream.

"Check the license plate," they ordered.

Billy enhanced the image—and the plate was blocked out. Deliberate.

"Pull all the city cams and trace its exit route," Dustin said, furious. How dare someone try to hurt Mommy? That was unforgivable.

Dustin grabbed the law book beside the bed—he knew a thing or two about legal recourse.

If they found this person, Dustin thought, he wouldn’t be allowed to live to regret it.

Meanwhile, Lucas set Sophia on the bed and immediately began his own investigation. Alex, who was tailing Aiden, reported back.

"Boss, Aiden hasn’t moved. No one went in or out, nothing."

"Find the owner of that big truck between 5 and 6 this afternoon on South Road. Get me everything in three days," Lucas said, then hung up.

His gaze went back to Sophia. He’d almost lost them today.

Next door, Billy shouted, "I found it!"