C375 Enemies From Every Direction

Alicia stood motionless for several seconds. The words the maid had spoken continued echoing in her mind. A son for a son. Her eyes remained fixed on Emmanuel, who was sleeping peacefully in Georgia's arms. He had no idea what was happening around him. He didn't know about the shooting. He didn't know about Jack. Alicia slowly shook her head. "No..." She reached for her phone. Without wasting another second, she searched for Victor's number and called him.

The phone rang several times. Finally, Victor answered. "Alicia?" "Grandpa..." Her voice was trembling. "I think Emmanuel is in danger." There was silence on the other side. Victor's expression immediately changed. "Did you know?" Alicia froze. "Know what?" Victor took a breath. "Hanna came back." Alicia's eyes widened. Victor continued. "The news that you gave birth to an heir did not sit well with Samson's family." He paused. "And Hanna is not happy at all that Gold and Diamond chose you." Alicia's heart began beating faster. "Grandpa..." She swallowed. "What do you mean?" Her voice became increasingly worried. "Is she coming after me and my son?"

Victor immediately realized that Alicia was panicking. "My child, calm down." He tried to keep his voice steady. "Don't make any decisions while you're frightened." "But." "Listen to me." Victor's voice became firmer. "For now, you don't have to worry about Hanna." Alicia remained silent. "I will have a meeting with your coaches." Victor paused. "I need to understand exactly what is happening before I make a decision." Alicia slowly nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "All right." Victor then asked, "But you said you think Emmanuel is in danger." His voice became more serious. "Why?"

Alicia hesitated. "Grandpa..." She took a deep breath. "They know." "Who?" "The people who attacked the Mooney residence." Victor listened carefully. "They founded out that Jack was killed." He didn't interrupt. "And the message Willy left was..." Alicia's voice became quieter. "A son for a son." There was a long silence. Victor finally spoke. "My child..." His voice had changed. "It seems danger is coming from everywhere now." Alicia's eyes filled with tears. Victor continued. "We cannot say that Emmanuel will be completely safe at the Mooney residence."

Alicia looked toward her son. "But..." Victor paused. "Staying here isn't necessarily safer either." Alicia closed her eyes. "Then what should I do?" "For now, be careful." Victor's voice became serious. "From this moment forward, you have to assume that people may attempt to take your life." He paused. "And they may also try to take your son's life." Alicia's tears finally began falling. "Grandpa..." "I know." Victor softened his voice. "But crying won't protect you." Alicia wiped her cheeks. "You have to stay strong." "I will." "Good." Victor paused again. "I will speak with your coaches and then tell you what we decide." Alicia nodded. "Okay, Grandpa." The call ended.

For a few seconds, Alicia simply stared at her phone. Her hands were trembling. I noticed immediately. I walked toward her. "Honey..." She looked at me. "What happened?" She didn't answer. Instead, she slowly lowered her phone. I stepped closer. "Alicia, what's wrong?" She finally whispered, "Hanna is back." Everyone in the room froze. Samantha looked at her. "What does that mean?" Alicia gave a faint, almost helpless smile. "It means..." She looked down at Emmanuel. "...she may be coming after me too." Georgia's eyes widened. "On top of the Harris Family?" She looked shocked. "Hanna is targeting you as well?"

Alicia didn't answer. I looked at her. Then at our son. My heart tightened. "Wife..." Alicia looked at me. "We have to protect our child." She nodded slowly. "I know." Peter immediately stepped forward. "Then we need to think carefully." Alicia looked around the room. Everyone was watching her. She took a deep breath. "Starting tomorrow..." She paused. "I will train with you." Peter's expression changed. "You?" Alicia nodded. "Yes." "Alicia, you just gave birth." "I know." "You were shot yesterday." "I know that too." Peter shook his head. "You can't simply get out of bed and start training."

Alicia looked down at her shoulder. Then she looked toward Emmanuel. "I can't just sit here and wait for my enemies to come after me." Peter sighed. "You need time to recover." Alicia looked at him. "And how much time do I have?" Nobody answered. That question silenced the entire room. Alicia continued. "Harris Family already attacked my family." She looked at everyone. "Now Hanna is back." She took a slow breath. "If I spend my time hiding, eventually someone will find me." She gently touched Emmanuel's tiny hand. "And I refuse to let my son become my weakness."

I stepped closer. "We'll protect you." Alicia looked at me. "I know." "And we'll protect Emmanuel." She nodded. "But I also need to learn how to protect myself." Nobody argued with her again. Later that evening, the families slowly began leaving. The excitement that had filled the residence only a few days earlier had disappeared. There had been laughter. There had been celebrations. There had been two new babies. For a brief moment, everyone had believed they could enjoy some peace. Now everything felt different.

Sarah, Samantha and Chris returned to the Wood Family residence. Laura drove back toward the Gomez family home. Nobody wanted to admit it openly, but everyone was frightened. They weren't only worried about themselves anymore. They had children. Parents. Spouses. Families. And enemies were beginning to understand exactly where their weaknesses were. At the Gupta family, Victor gathered the ten coaches. They stood together inside the villa. Angus the Hammer. Fraser the Reaper. Conner the Beast. And the others who had dedicated themselves to protecting Alicia.

Victor stood in front of them with a serious expression. For several seconds, he didn't speak. Everyone waited. Finally, Victor broke the silence. "Hanna's return means she has heard about everything." The coaches exchanged glances. Victor continued. "The Harris Family has already come out of hiding." "They attacked your new leader." He paused. "The war between us and them has not been decided." Victor looked around at them. "And now Hanna has returned." His expression became darker. "So tell me..." "What do you think we should do?"

Fraser the Reaper stepped forward first. "Boss." Victor looked at him. "Two different enemies are now targeting Madam." Fraser folded his arms. "That creates a problem." Victor nodded. "What problem?" "How do we defend Madam against enemies who aren't showing themselves?" Fraser continued. "We know how to deal with Harris Family because they have already made their move." He paused. "But Hanna is different." "We don't know when she will strike." "We don't know where she will strike." "And we don't know how many people are standing behind her."

Conner the Beast stepped forward. "I think the most dangerous enemy right now is the one inside our own family." Victor looked at him. Conner continued. "Harris Family doesn't know where we are." He glanced toward the mansion. "So we can move Madam here." "We can keep her inside the Gupta residence." "We can increase the guards." "We can make sure nobody gets close to her." Lewis the Sniper immediately shook his head. "I disagree." Conner looked at him. Lewis continued. "Bringing Madam here may actually put her closer to the enemy."

The room became silent. "If Hanna has people inside the family, we could be giving them exactly what they want." He paused. "If they strike unexpectedly, we won't know who is responsible." Victor slowly nodded. "That is what I fear the most." He looked toward the others. "Hanna coming back could create a greater danger than the Harris Family." He paused. "And I wouldn't even know how to explain that situation to the Mooney Family." The coaches remained silent. Then Angus the Hammer stepped forward. Unlike the others, he wore a faint smile.

Victor noticed. "Angus." "Yes, Boss." "What are you thinking?" Angus looked around the room. "For now..." He paused. "We should let them think they are better than us." Victor raised an eyebrow. "Explain." Angus continued. "We deal with Harris Family first." "We train Madam." "And we train the army she is building." Victor listened carefully. "Madam isn't inheriting an army." Angus said. "She's building one from scratch." He paused. "Hanna inherited her position from her father." "Madam has to build everything herself." Victor said slowly. "But that will take time." "Exactly."

Angus looked toward the others. "But we can speed up the process." Victor asked, "How long?" Angus thought for a moment. "Maybe two months." The room became quiet. "In two months, we can have them ready enough to face a real threat." Victor looked doubtful. "And then?" Angus smiled. "When they are ready..." He paused. "Their first test will be Harris Family." Victor's eyes widened slightly. "You think they can defeat Harris Family?" Angus nodded. "With enough training, yes." Victor stared at him. "And after Harris Family?"

Angus's smile disappeared. "Then we deal with Hanna." Victor leaned back slightly. "You think Alicia can defeat Hanna?" Angus didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked toward the training hall. "Sir..." He finally spoke. "All I can say is that Madam may lack experience." He looked back at Victor. "But she isn't stupid." Victor remained silent. Angus continued. "And the people we are training aren't stupid either." "They have dedicated their lives to her." "They know the risks." He paused. "And yet they're still willing to stand beside her." Fraser nodded.

Angus continued. "That tells me everything I need to know." He looked at Victor seriously. "If their enemies provoke them because they believe they are juniors..." He shook his head. "Then they are making a mistake." Victor stared at him. "Why?" Angus smiled faintly. "Because a few months of proper training can change everything." He looked toward the other coaches. "We won't make them invincible." "We can't promise that." "But we can make them prepared." He paused. "And when the time comes..." His expression hardened. "They will be ready for whatever comes through that door."

Victor remained silent for several seconds. Then he slowly nodded. "Very well." He looked at all ten coaches. "Then we begin tomorrow." And this time, there would be no room for mistakes.