“Stay where you are,” he said, his voice deadly calm. “I’m sending someone to your office. Don’t leave until they arrive.”
“What about Nikia? She’s still at school.”
“I’m handling it. She won’t be alone for one second. I promise you.”
He hung up.
Twenty minutes later, a man in a dark suit walked into the dental office. Dr. Patel looked concerned, but I quickly explained I needed to leave. The man didn’t speak. He just walked me to my car and followed me to Nikia’s school.
When I got there, two more of Young Chul’s men were already positioned outside—one near the front entrance, one by the playground.
I practically ran inside to Nikia’s classroom. She was sitting at her desk, coloring, completely unaware.
“Mommy!” She jumped up and hugged me. “Why are you here early?”
“I just wanted to see you, baby.”
That evening, Young Chul came to my apartment. He sat down across from me while one of his men stood guard outside my door.
“DeAndre’s been making calls from prison,” he said. “Trying to intimidate you through people on the outside.”
“Can they do something? The police?”
“They can investigate, but investigations take time. I don’t have time.” His jaw tightened. “I’m going to handle this myself.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means the people threatening you will understand very clearly that touching you or Nikia will be the last mistake they ever make.”
The way he said it sent a chill through me. Not because I was afraid of him, but because I realized how far he was willing to go.
He stood up and walked over to where I was sitting. Then he did something I didn’t expect. He cupped my face gently with both hands.
“No one is going to hurt you again, Adrien. I won’t let them.”
His voice was low, controlled, absolutely certain. And in that moment, I believed him completely.
If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like when someone finally stands between you and the thing that’s been hunting you, subscribe right now because what he did next proved he wasn’t just making promises. He was making guarantees.
Saturday morning, Young Chul picked us up like nothing had happened. But I noticed the second car following us—more of his men. He wasn’t taking any chances.
The children’s museum was incredible. Nikia’s face lit up the second we walked in. There were dinosaur skeletons, interactive exhibits, a room where kids could dig for fossils.
“Can I go in there?” she asked, pointing at the excavation area.
“Go ahead,” Young Chul said. “We’ll be right here.”
She ran off, and I watched her laugh and play with other kids. For a moment, everything felt normal.
“She’s happy,” Young Chul said quietly, standing beside me.
“She is because of you.”
He didn’t respond, just kept watching her.
An hour later, Nikia came running back, covered in fake dirt and holding a plastic dinosaur bone.
“Uncle Bang, look what I found!”
I froze. Uncle Bang?
He crouched down so he was at her eye level. “That’s a great find. You’re a real explorer.”
“Can I call you that?” Nikia asked shyly. “Uncle Bang? My friend at school has an uncle, and I want an uncle too.”
He glanced at me, and I saw something in his expression I hadn’t seen before—something vulnerable.
“I’d like that very much,” he said softly.
Nikia beamed and threw her arms around his neck. I turned away quickly, blinking back tears.
Later, we had lunch in the museum café. Nikia was chattering away about dinosaurs, completely oblivious to the tension I’d been carrying all week. Young Chul leaned across the table toward me.
“What did you want to be before everything else?”
“What do you mean?”
“Before DeAndre. Before you had to survive. What did you want?”
I hesitated. No one had asked me that in years.
“I wanted to go back to school,” I admitted. “Become a dental hygienist. I like working at the office, but I want to do more. I just gave up on it when Nikia was born.”
“It’s not too late.”
“I can’t afford—”
“That’s not what I asked.” His eyes locked on mine. “Is it what you still want?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s not too late.”
On the drive home, Nikia fell asleep in the back seat, clutching her plastic dinosaur bone. Young Chul reached over and took my hand. He didn’t say anything—just held it while he drove—and I felt something break open inside me, something I’d kept locked away for years.
