The Billionaire Thought Her Daughter Feared Everyone — Until an 8-Year-Old Hugged the New Single-Dad Ex-Navy SEAL Bodyguard
Chapter 5
The attack came two weeks later.
Victoria was attending a charity event.
Ethan stayed beside her.
Lily remained at home with Emma and Mrs. Jenkins.
The event was crowded.
Celebrities.
Investors.
Politicians.
Photographers.
Victoria hated crowds.
Ethan scanned the room.
Then stopped.
“Something’s wrong.”
“What?”
“Man near the entrance.”
Victoria looked.
“Which one?”
“Gray jacket.”
She saw him.
“Security knows him.”
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
Ethan moved.
The man disappeared into the crowd.
Ethan followed.
At the same moment, a fire alarm sounded.
People panicked.
The lights went out.
Ethan grabbed Victoria’s arm.
“Stay with me.”
A loud crash came from the service corridor.
Someone had breached the building.
Ethan moved Victoria toward an emergency exit.
Gunfire sounded outside.
Security rushed in.
Ethan pushed Victoria behind a concrete pillar.
He didn’t panic.
He waited.
Listened.
Then moved.
They escaped through a loading area.
Police arrived.
The attacker was gone.
Back at the estate, Ethan learned the real target.
Lily.
Someone had attempted to enter through the rear property while security was distracted.
But the girls had been moved.
By whom?
Lily.
She had remembered Ethan’s instructions.
If something felt wrong, don’t hide in the obvious place.
She had taken Emma to the old greenhouse.
Mrs. Jenkins had followed.
They were safe.
Ethan breathed out.
Victoria almost collapsed.
She hugged Lily.
Then turned to Ethan.
“Thank you.”
He shook his head.
“She did it herself.”
Lily looked proud.
“Because Dad taught me.”
Victoria froze.
“She called you Dad.”
Lily looked confused.
“I meant Emma’s dad.”
Ethan smiled awkwardly.
Victoria laughed.
The tension broke.
But the incident changed everything.
Ethan decided to move the family temporarily.
Victoria refused.
“I won’t let them chase us from our home.”
“Then we fortify it.”
They did.
Security became stronger.
The girls continued spending time together.
And Victoria began realizing something.
She didn’t just trust Ethan.
She relied on him.
That frightened her.
One night, she asked:
“What happens when this is over?”
Ethan looked at her.
“You’ll be safe.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He waited.
“What happens to us?”
Silence.
Ethan looked toward her.
“I don’t know.”
Victoria nodded.
“Neither do I.”
Neither said what they were both thinking.
But the question remained.
