Chapter 103 Suprises

Chapter 103 Suprises
AMELIA

Elena's taxi pulled up to the gates twenty-three minutes later.
I climbed in. "Thanks for doing this."
"No problem. Where are we going?"
The martial arts place you called is in Brooklyn Heights. The instructor said he'd fit me in this morning if we could get there by ten."
"We'll make it," Elena told the driver, giving him the address. "You sure about this? Learning to fight?" she asked again.
"Completely sure," I affirmed.
The drive took forty minutes. Through traffic, construction. The morning in the city was filled with the usual chaos.
When we arrived, Elena guided me inside. A gym. I could smell sweat and rubber mats. Hear the thud of bodies hitting padding. Voices calling out instructions in different languages.
"You must be Amelia," A man's voice said. Deep and gruff. "I'm Steve. We spoke on the phone."
"Yes. Thank you for making time."
"Elena explained your situation. You are blind, and you need self-defence training. One-on-one instruction. " He walked around me. Assessing me maybe. "You've trained before?"
I thought about Alex. The shooting lessons. "Some. Not hand-to-hand. "I answered truthfully.
"We'll start with the basics first. See what you can handle. This way."
He led me to a private area. Mats underfoot. Enclosed space where sound echoed differently.
"First rule," Steve said. "Your blindness is not weakness. It's different sensory input. You feel vibrations through the floor. You hear breathing. You sense body heat and movement. We'll train those senses and make them weapons."
For the next hour, he worked me through fundamentals. Stance. Balance. How to fall without injury. How to use sound to track an opponent's position.
Then defence. Blocks. Redirects. Using an attacker's momentum against them.
"Someone grabs your wrist—what do you do?"
I tried to remember his instruction. Rotate. Step in. Use my free hand to strike.
"Good. Again."
We ran through scenarios. Someone grabbing from behind. Someone pushing me. Someone getting too close.
My body was already sore from last night. This made it worse. But I pushed through. Focused. Learned.
"Enough for today," Steve finally said. "You did well. Instincts. We'll build on this. The next session is on Tuesday, same time?"
"Yes. I'll be here."
Elena helped me back to the waiting area. I was sweating. Breathing hard. Every muscle is screaming.
But I felt powerful and capable. Like maybe I could actually do this.
"That was intense," Elena said. "You okay?"
"I'm great. Tired, but great."
My phone rang. Jeremy.
I answered. "Hey."
"How's your day going?" His voice sounded—off. Strained. Like he was forcing casual conversation.
"Good. I'm out with Elena. We just—we just finished something. Why? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to call. And Amelia—" He paused. "Remember I said I had a gift for you? I need you to listen to something. Don't say anything. Just listen."
"Jeremy, what—"
"Trust me. Just listen."
The phone went quiet. And then I hear Gbam!
Gunshots. Three of them. Sharp cracks that made me flinch. Made my heart stop.
Then silence.
Then Jeremy's voice. "Did you hear that?"
"What—" My voice came out strangled. "What was that? Who..."
My first thought—immediate and terrifying—was Alex.
Had Jeremy discovered everything? Had he found out about more than just the shooting lessons? Had he decided to—
"The man who was following you," Jeremy said. "The surveillance. The professional someone hired to track you."
Relief flooded through me. Not Alex. Someone else.
"You killed him?"
"I eliminated a threat to your safety. Yes. That's your gift, Amelia. Your safety."
"How—how do you know who hired him?"
"He confessed. After appropriate questioning." Jeremy's voice was cold. Clinical. "His name was Mick. He was a former private security guard. Jade paid him to track your movements. Document where you went. Who you met. Everything."
Mick. The name meant nothing to me. But the implications—
Jade had hired someone to stalk me. To watch me. To collect evidence for—what? Blackmail? Leverage against Jeremy?
"What did he tell you?" I asked. "What was Jade planning?"
"We'll discuss it when I get home. For now, just know the threat is handled. You're safe." He paused. "I have to go. Clean up here. Handle the rest'' He said to someone, Luca maybe. "I'll see you tonight. Stay with Elena. Stay safe."
He hung up.
I stood there. Phone still in my hand and my mind racing.
Jeremy had just killed someone. Tortured them for information. Executed them.
Because they'd been watching me. Because Jade had hired them.
The violence should have terrified me. Should have made me question everything.
But instead—
Instead, I felt—protected. Valued. Like Jeremy had eliminated a threat because I mattered enough to defend.
What did that say about me? That I wasn't horrified? That my first reaction was relief instead of revulsion?
"Amelia?" Elena's voice. "You okay? You look pale," she asked, concerned.
"I'm fine. Jeremy just—he had news. About something. It's handled now."
"Good news?"
"Yeah. Good news."

Two Hours Later
Elena and I had lunch at a small café near the gym. Sandwiches and coffee.
I tried to focus on the conversation. On Elena's stories about her job. About her apartment search. About the guy she'd been seeing.
But my mind kept drifting. To gunshots. To Mick. To Jade's surveillance operation that had just ended with a bullet.
To Jeremy, threats are handled with lethal efficiency.
"You sure you're okay?" Elena asked again. "You've been quiet."
"Just tired. The training took a lot out of me."
"Yeah, Steve looked intense. Do you think you'll continue with it? she asked again.
"Definitely. I need this. Need to be strong."
We finished lunch. Elena called another taxi. "I'll take you home. Get you back before Jeremy worries."
The drive back to the estate was quiet. Elena chatted about weekend plans. I nodded and made appropriate sounds.
But unease was building in my chest. Growing with every block we passed.
Something felt wrong. Off. Like walking into a room and knowing someone was waiting in the shadows.
The taxi pulled up to the gates. Elena helped me out.
"Want me to walk you in?" she asked.
"No. I'm good. Thanks for today. For everything."
"Anytime. Call me when you want to go again."
The taxi drove away. I stood at the gates. Listening. Sensing.
The guard let me through. I made my way up the drive. To the east wing entrance.
Voices inside. More than usual. Men talking and arguing.
I pushed open the door.
And heard him immediately.
"Well, well. Here comes the blind slut."
Antonio's voice. Unmistakable. Cruel. The uncle who'd tried to take me. Who Jeremy had paid off with territory to make him leave.
He was here. Inside the estate. Inside Jeremy's home.
I froze. My hand tightened on my cane. My other hand automatically moved toward my ankle—toward the gun hidden there.
Elena was still beside me. She hadn't got back in the taxi yet. She was waiting for me to get in.
I grabbed her arm. Held on. Used her as anchor against the panic rising.
"Amelia?" Elena whispered. "Who is that?"
Then another voice. This one is Older and deeper, full of authority that made even Antonio's cruelty sound petty.
"Antonio. That's enough."
Dominic Santoro. Jeremy's father. The head of the family.
The man I'd never formally met. Never been introduced to. Never been judged.
Until now.
I stood in the doorway. Holding onto Elena. Facing two of the most dangerous men in Jeremy's life.
I realised I'd walked into something far worse than surveillance or Jade's schemes.
I'd walked into the family business.
And I was the subject of discussion.