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CHAPTER 57: MEETING THE COMMUNITY
publish date:
2026-09-12 13:04:20
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THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT CHAPTER 63: IT'S NOT JUST US
The whiteboard in Agent Reyes' office had names. Lots of them. Damian Cole. Ali Carter. Board Member #1. Board Member #3. Sophia Cole. IN CUSTODY. And now: Mara Jenkins. Library volunteer. She's getting threats too, Reyes said. So is Peterson's lawyer. So is the judge from the civil case. Damian stared at the board. It's not just us, he said. No, Reyes said. It's everyone connected to Cole Industries. --- The library was full when we got back. But different. Quieter. Parents kept looking at the door. Damian did his speech again. "We're safe. We're open. We're not leaving." Most people nodded. Some left anyway. I don't blame them, I said. Neither do I, Damian said. He stayed late. Helped shelve books. Fixed the printer. Made coffee. Like if he kept busy, the bad thing wouldn't happen. --- Monday. Letter came to the jail. For Damian. From Sophia. He didn't want to open it. I told him he should. Inside: one page. Her handwriting. Damian, I did
THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT CHAPTER 62:THE CALL FROM PRISON
The call ended at 12:03AM. Peterson's voice was still in the room. "I don't know who’s doing this. But it's not me." Damian sat on the edge of the bed. Elbows on knees. Head down. You believe him, I asked. I don't know what I believe, he said. He stood up. Checked the locks. Front door. Back door. Windows. Again. Come to bed, I said. In a minute, he said. He didn't come. --- I woke up at 3AM. Alone. Found him in the living room. Sitting on the floor. Back against the couch. Phone in his hand. Can't sleep, I said. No, he said. I sat next to him. He put his arm around me. Didn't say anything. Just held me. For hours. --- 6AM. My phone buzzed. News alert. BREAKING: SECOND ARSON ATTEMPT COLE INDUSTRIES FORMER HQ - DOWNTOWN FIRE CONTAINED. NO INJURIES. There was a photo. Our old building. 12th floor. Black around the windows. Fire trucks below. Damian saw it over my shoulder. Stood up immediately. It's starting again, he said. Agent Reyes call
THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT CHAPTER 61:THE PACKAGE
"Close the library. Or next time it's not paper." The note was under the photo. Block letters. Black marker. Damian put it on the table. Didn't touch it again. Agent Reyes already had the bag. Evidence. Prints. DNA. We'll find him, she said. But until then, you don't come here alone. I'm not leaving, I said. Ali, Damian said. No, I said. This place is ours. We don't run. He looked at me for a long time. Then nodded. Fine, he said. But I'm here too. Every day. Every hour. --- Friday night. We did "Safety Night" anyway. Damian wanted to cancel it. I said no. If we cancel, we let him win, I said. So we put chairs in a circle. Agent Reyes at the front. Two officers by the door. 50 people came. More than we expected. Moms with kids. Old men from the block. Lila with a notebook. The barista from 3 streets over. Reyes taught us how to check cars. How to walk with keys between fingers. How to scream. We practiced. Loud. In the library. Kids though
THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT CHAPTER 60:HE WAS AT STORY TIME
The sign-in sheet was on the desk. Tuesday. 3PM. Name: J. Smith. Phone: 555-0199. Address: 12 Main St. Damian ran his finger over the ink. Fake, he said. All of it. Agent Reyes was on speaker. We checked, she said. 555-0199 is disconnected. 12 Main St is a laundromat. And there’s no J. Smith in the system. He used a hat and sunglasses, I said. Lila said so. Lila was in the corner coloring. She looked up. He sat by the window, she said. Didn't read. Just watched. Damian closed his eyes. For a second. Thank you, Lila, he said. You did good telling us. --- After she left, Damian locked the door. Early. 4PM. We need to talk, he said. About what, I asked. About keeping you safe, he said. He moved the tables in the back room. Cleared space. Come here, he said. Damian, I said. Ali, he said. Please. So I went. He stood behind me. Put his arms around me. Like a hold. If someone grabs you like this, he said. Elbow to the ribs. Hard. Then step. Then
THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT CHAPTER 59:THE PERSON IN THE CAR
The ribbon was on the ground. Yellow pieces. Cut. 100 library cards. Kids laughing inside. Damian reading in a monster voice. And then the engine. I heard it first. Slow. Crawling. Black car. Tinted windows. Stopped right in front of the library. Damian stepped in front of me. Before I could even think. The driver's window rolled down halfway. Dark inside. Couldn't see a face. Couldn't see anything. 10 seconds. Maybe 15. Then the window went up. And the car drove away. --- Inside my chest, my heart was hammering. You okay, Damian asked. Yeah, I said. Liar, he said. Agent Reyes was there in 20 minutes. Pulled the street cam footage. No plates, she said. Windows tinted illegal dark. We’ll run it, but don’t get your hopes up. Same car was here the night of the fire, she added. Different angle. Same make. Same spot across the street. Damian didn't say anything. Just took my hand. Squeezed. --- That night he checked the locks. Three times. Front
THE BILLIONAIRE'S CONTRACT CHAPTER 58: LIBRARY GRAND OPENING
PART 2 Saturday. 10AM. The library was full before we even opened the doors. No news vans. No protesters. No board. Just people. Kids with backpacks. Parents with coffee. The teacher from the town hall. Lila holding her mom's hand. Damian was in the back. Fixing the ribbon. Yellow. Handmade. Nervous, I asked. Terrified, he said. Good, I said. Means it matters. --- At 10:03 we cut it. No speech. No microphones. Damian just looked at me. Counted to three. And we cut. Everyone clapped. Loud. Real. Welcome to the Cole Community Library, Damian said. Built by us. For you. The doors opened. --- The first hour was chaos. In the best way. Library cards. We gave out 100 in 60 minutes. #001 was still Lila. #100 was a little boy who couldn't stop smiling. Story time at 11. Damian read. In a monster voice. The kids screamed and laughed. I worked the desk. Checking out books. Taking donations. Saying thank you until my voice hurt. No one asked about
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