Chapter 4 - The Threat in the Sourdough
The next morning, Clara’s phone rang. It was an unknown number.
She hesitated, then answered. "Hello?"
"Clara," her ex-husband’s voice came through the speaker, smug and dripping with false concern. "I saw the news about the Hale estate. Armed guards? Police activity? You’ve dragged our daughter into a literal criminal hideout."
"Derek, you don't know what you’re talking about," Clara said, her hand clenching into a fist. "Lily is safe. She’s in a secured environment."
"She’s in a house targeted by real estate mobs, Clara!" Derek shouted. "I’ve already contacted my lawyer. We’re filing an emergency motion to suspend your visitation rights. The judge will see that you’ve exposed our daughter to extreme danger just to secure a paycheck."
"Derek, please—"
"I’ll see you in court on Monday, Clara. Enjoy your rich boss while you can. He won't be able to buy you out of this." The line went dead.
Clara felt the room spin. She leaned against the kitchen counter, her breathing shallow. Everything was falling apart. She was going to lose Lily.
"He’s bluffing," Victor’s voice broke her spiral. He had entered the kitchen silently, holding a file of papers.
"He has a point, Victor," Clara whispered, tears finally spilling over her eyelashes. "The mansion was attacked. Lily was in danger. If Derek presents that to the judge, I don't have a defense."
"Yes, you do," Victor said, placing the file on the counter. "Because you didn't drag her here. I recruited you. And this file contains a legally binding contract naming you as the co-guardian of the Hale children in the event of my death or incapacitation, along with a certified employment contract listing your salary at three hundred thousand dollars a year, with full legal indemnity."
Clara stared at the documents. "Three hundred thousand? Victor, that’s insane. I’m a nanny."
"You’re the only person who can keep my family together, Clara," Victor said, his eyes intensely focused on her. "With this contract, the court will see you as one of the most financially stable and legally protected women in the state of Chicago. Derek’s claims of instability will look like a joke."
He stepped closer, his hand reaching out to touch her shoulder, his warmth grounding her. "But more than that... I need you here. My boys are laughing again. Theo is speaking. Even I am... starting to look forward to coming home."
Clara looked up at him, the space between them suddenly charged with a tension that had nothing to do with contracts or enemies. She saw the vulnerability beneath his powerful exterior—a man who had lost his wife and had been fighting the world alone to protect his sons.
"Thank you, Victor," she whispered.
"We protect our own, Clara," he said softly.
May you like
The moment was interrupted by Ryder bursting into the kitchen. "Clara! Cole is trying to bake a cake, and he’s using salt instead of sugar because he says sugar is for weaklings!"
Clara laughed through her tears. "I’m coming, Ryder. Tell him if he uses salt, he has to eat the whole thing."
