East Fence

Michele’s POV

The night air was sharp when I stepped outside. The temperature had dropped fast, the kind of cold that bit through clothes and made every sound travel farther. The gravel crunched under my boots as I crossed the yard, Enzo following two steps behind.

“Where?” I asked.

“East fence,” one of the guards said. “He was seen near the trees. Didn’t respond when we called out.”

I didn’t slow down. My mind was already piecing things together. The same man from this morning. The one who avoided Erin’s eyes. I should have trusted my instinct earlier.

The moonlight stretched across the wet grass, silver and pale. The lamps along the fence flickered faintly, and for a second, I saw movement — a shadow near the edge of the trees.

“There,” Enzo said quietly.

The guard stood half hidden behind a low wall, a radio clutched in his hand. His face was pale, his eyes darting toward us as if looking for an escape.

“Don’t move,” I said.

He froze. The radio slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a dull thud.

Two of my men closed in from the sides, blocking the exits. I stepped closer, stopping only a few feet away.

“Do you want to explain what you’re doing out here?” I asked. My voice was calm, steady.

He swallowed hard. “I was checking the perimeter.”

“At night. Alone. Without backup.”

His jaw tightened. “I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

“Try again.”

He didn’t answer. His eyes flicked toward the ground, where the small radio lay between us.

I nodded at Enzo. He bent, picked it up, and checked the frequency. The static buzzed faintly. Then a faint voice came through, garbled but clear enough to understand: Report.

Enzo looked at me.

The man’s face went white.

I stepped forward until there was barely any space between us. “Who are you reporting to?”

“I wasn’t,” he said quickly. “It’s a misunderstanding.”

“You just happened to be standing here, tuned to the same channel as the people who sent a threat to my door this morning.”

His breathing grew fast. His hand twitched slightly, like he was thinking of running.

Enzo’s voice came low. “We can take him in now, boss.”

“Not yet.”

I kept my eyes on him. “How long have you been inside my house?”

He hesitated. “A few months.”

“And who placed you here?”

“I told you, I’m not—”

My patience snapped. I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him forward, hard enough that he stumbled. The other guards stepped back slightly, waiting for my signal.

“You’re lying,” I said. “I can see it all over your face. So I’ll ask once more. Who placed you here?”

His mouth opened, but no words came. He looked terrified now, shaking, his eyes darting between me and Enzo.

For a second, the only sound was the wind moving through the trees. Then he said, voice cracking, “You don’t understand. They’ll kill me.”

I didn’t blink. “Then you’d better start talking before they do.”

He swallowed again, his breath visible in the cold air.

“It’s not what you think,” he said finally. “They just wanted information. Routine. Nothing dangerous.”

“Information about what?”

“The boy. And the one taking care of him.”

My stomach turned cold. Erin.

“Why?” I asked quietly.

“I don’t know. They didn’t say. I swear.”

I stared at him, and for the first time that night, I felt my control slip. The thought of anyone watching Erin or Luca, targeting them, made something sharp rise in my chest.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I asked.

His voice shook. “They said no one would get hurt. Just updates.”

“Updates?”

“Schedules. When they leave rooms. Who comes and goes.”

I took a step back, running a hand across my jaw. “You’ve been feeding them times and patterns. You told them where my people sleep. You gave them a map of my house.”

He didn’t answer. His silence said everything.

Enzo moved closer. “What do you want me to do with him?”

“Hold him,” I said quietly.

Two guards grabbed him by the arms. He didn’t resist, just kept looking at me like he was waiting for mercy I didn’t have left to give.

I stared at him for a long time. “When did they contact you first?”

“About a month ago,” he whispered. “I didn’t know who they were at first. They offered money. I thought it was nothing.”

“Nothing,” I repeated, the word bitter in my mouth.

He nodded weakly. “I have a family. They said they’d hurt them if I didn’t help.”

I let out a slow breath. “You made a choice.”

He looked down, ashamed.

Enzo said quietly, “Boss, we can move him to the lower holding room. He won’t get out.”

“Do it.”

The guards started to pull him away, but I stopped them. “Wait.”

The man looked up, confused.

“You said they wanted updates on Erin,” I said. “How did they even know he was here?”

He hesitated again. “Someone told them. Before I started. They already knew everything.”

That hit harder than I expected. Whoever this was, they weren’t just guessing — they were watching before Erin even arrived.

“Take him away,” I said finally.

The guards dragged him toward the side gate, his footsteps uneven on the gravel. I stood there until they disappeared into the dark.

Enzo stayed behind.

“That confirms it,” he said. “They’ve been planning this for a while.”

“Yes.”

He looked at me carefully. “You okay?”

I didn’t answer right away. My thoughts were still caught on what the man said. The boy and the one taking care of him.

They weren’t after me this time. They were using me.

“Double the guards near the west wing,” I said quietly. “No one enters or leaves without clearance.”

“You think they’ll try again tonight?”

“They will.”

He nodded and turned to leave, but I stopped him with one last order.

“Find out where that man’s family lives. Move them somewhere safe. Quietly.”

Enzo looked surprised but didn’t argue. “Yes, boss.”

When he was gone, I stood alone by the fence. The wind moved through the trees again, carrying the faint smell of wet leaves. The ground where the man had stood was still marked with his footprints.

I stared at them, thinking of Erin upstairs, probably pacing, waiting for news.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

He was just supposed to take care of Luca. To bring warmth into the house again. To make it feel alive.

But somehow, he had become the center of everything.

I walked back toward the house, my steps slow. The lights from the windows glowed softly against the night, and for a brief second, I saw a shadow move behind one of the curtains — Erin, watching.

He didn’t know what had just happened.

And I wasn’t sure I wanted him to.