Chapter 2 - The Offer From The Man Everyone Feared
Natasha Reynolds did not sleep that night.
Not because she was afraid.
At least, that was what she told herself.
She sat on the edge of her small apartment bed, staring at the black business card resting on the table across the room.
No logo.
No title.
No phone number.
Only one name.
Simon Gambino.
A name that carried more weight than any official position ever could.
Everyone in New York knew stories about him.
Some said he controlled entire businesses without ever appearing in public.
Some said people who crossed him disappeared overnight.
Some said he had no emotions left after years of violence and betrayal.
But Natasha kept remembering something different.
Not the rumors.
Not the fear.
She remembered the way he held his sons.
The way his hands, hands that looked like they belonged to a dangerous man, carefully adjusted a blanket around two tiny babies.
She remembered his eyes.
Not the cold eyes everyone talked about.
The eyes of a father who was terrified of losing the last pieces of his family.
Natasha picked up the card.
She turned it over.
Nothing.
Just his name.
She placed it down again.
“This is a terrible idea,” she whispered.
Her cat jumped onto the bed beside her, staring at her as if expecting an answer.
Natasha sighed.
“I know.”
She knew exactly what everyone would tell her.
Stay away.
Do not get involved.
People like Simon Gambino did not invite ordinary people into their lives.
They used them.
They controlled them.
They destroyed them.
But then she remembered the twins.
The shaking.
The helplessness.
The way the entire room stood frozen while two babies needed someone to act.
Natasha had spent years working with children who could not communicate their pain.
Children whose bodies spoke before their voices could.
She understood something most people did not.
Sometimes the smallest signs were the most important.
And those babies had been screaming for help long before anyone heard them.
The next morning, Natasha arrived at Crestwood House earlier than expected.
The restaurant looked completely different in daylight.
Without the shadows, the expensive decorations, and the evening crowd, it almost looked normal.
Almost.
She walked through the entrance carrying her employee bag.
The manager immediately noticed her.
“Natasha.”
His expression changed.
Not angry.
Worried.
“You actually came back?”
She looked at him.
“Yes.”
He lowered his voice.
“Do you understand who you helped last night?”
Natasha nodded.
“Yes.”
“No, I mean do you really understand?”
She remained quiet.
Victor looked around before speaking.
“Simon Gambino doesn’t ask people for favors.”
“I know.”
“He doesn’t need people.”
Natasha looked toward the empty dining room.
“Maybe his children do.”
Victor stared at her.
For a moment, he did not know how to respond.
Because that answer was exactly why she was different.
Everyone else saw Simon Gambino.
Natasha saw two babies.
A black SUV stopped outside.
The entire restaurant became silent.
Two men in black suits entered first.
Then Simon walked inside.
No dramatic entrance.
No raised voices.
No need.
His presence changed the room by itself.
Today he was wearing a charcoal suit instead of black.
His hair was perfectly styled.
His expression remained controlled.
But Natasha noticed one thing immediately.
He looked tired.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like he had not slept either.
Behind him, a nanny pushed a double stroller.
The twins were awake.
And calm.
Natasha looked surprised.
Simon noticed.
“They slept through the night.”
A small smile almost appeared on his face.
“First time in months.”
Natasha looked at the babies.
“That’s good.”
Simon studied her.
“You say that like you expected it.”
“I hoped for it.”
He nodded slowly.
Then he walked toward a private table.
“Sit.”
Natasha hesitated.
The word was not rude.
But it was definitely not a request.
She sat across from him.
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Simon was clearly someone who controlled conversations.
Someone who waited until others became uncomfortable.
But Natasha did not.
She simply waited.
Finally, Simon spoke.
“Tell me about yourself.”
Natasha blinked.
“That’s not what I expected.”
“What did you expect?”
She looked at him carefully.
“An interrogation.”
A faint movement crossed his face.
Not quite a smile.
Almost.
“I already know enough to ask questions.”
Natasha frowned slightly.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I know your name. Your age. Where you worked before Crestwood House. Your education.”
Her expression changed.
Of course.
Someone like him would know.
“I see.”
Simon leaned back.
“But I don’t know why you walked toward my children when everyone else walked away.”
Natasha looked down at her hands.
Because she knew the answer.
But she had never said it out loud.
“Because someone needed to.”
Simon watched her.
“That simple?”
“Yes.”
“Most people would have been afraid.”
“I was.”
That surprised him.
Natasha continued.
“I was terrified.”
Simon looked at her.
“Then why did you keep walking?”
She looked toward the twins.
“Because being afraid doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing.”
The words hit harder than she expected.
Simon became quiet.
Because he knew fear.
Fear had ruled his entire life.
Fear was how he protected himself.
Fear was how he controlled others.
But this woman had something he did not.
The ability to feel fear and still choose kindness.
After a moment, Simon placed a folder on the table.
Natasha looked at it.
“What is that?”
“An offer.”
She did not touch it.
“What kind of offer?”
Simon opened the folder.
Inside was a contract.
Natasha’s eyes widened.
The number at the top immediately caught her attention.
$250,000 per year.
Housing included.
Medical benefits.
Security protection.
She looked back at him.
“This is a joke.”
“No.”
“Why would you offer me this?”
Simon glanced at his sons.
“Because they need someone they trust.”
Natasha looked at the contract again.
“You barely know me.”
“I know enough.”
“That’s not how hiring works.”
A quiet silence followed.
Then Simon said:
“You saved my children when everyone else failed.”
Natasha shook her head.
“I calmed them.”
“To me, that is the same thing.”
She looked at him.
For the first time, she saw something beneath the power.
A man who was desperate.
Not weak.
Never weak.
But desperate.
“I’m not a nanny.”
“I know.”
“I’m not someone who follows orders.”
“I know.”
“I have questions.”
Simon’s expression hardened slightly.
“That is where this becomes complicated.”
There it was.
The reminder.
The wall.
The dangerous man returning.
Natasha noticed.
“What questions?”
Simon looked away.
“My wife.”
The room changed.
Natasha said nothing.
“Elena died three months ago.”
His voice became quieter.
“The official story says one thing.”
“But you don’t believe it.”
Simon looked back at her.
“No.”
The honesty surprised her.
“My sons were born into a world where people wanted something from them before they could even open their eyes.”
He paused.
“And after Elena died, I stopped trusting everyone.”
Natasha looked at the twins.
“That’s why you hired so many specialists.”
“Yes.”
“And none of them helped.”
“No.”
She nodded.
“Because they were treating symptoms.”
Simon watched her carefully.
“And you think you know the problem?”
“I think your sons are grieving.”
That answer caught him off guard.
“They’re babies.”
“Yes.”
“They don’t understand death.”
“No.”
Natasha leaned forward slightly.
“But they understand absence.”
Silence.
Simon looked at his sons.
For the first time, he considered that maybe nobody had truly explained what was happening to them.
Maybe everyone had been trying to fix the shaking.
But nobody had tried to understand why it existed.
Natasha closed the folder.
“I need time.”
Simon looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because this isn’t just a job.”
She glanced at the babies.
“This changes my entire life.”
Simon nodded.
“That’s fair.”
She stood.
“I’ll think about it.”
As she turned to leave, Simon spoke.
“Natasha.”
She stopped.
He rarely said anyone’s name.
“Thank you.”
She looked back.
The words were simple.
But from Simon Gambino, they meant more than any contract.
Natasha left the restaurant holding the folder.
She thought the hardest part would be deciding whether to accept the job.
She was wrong.
Because before she could make a decision, someone else already had.
Someone who did not want her near Simon Gambino’s children.
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Someone who believed Natasha Reynolds had discovered something she was never supposed to see.
And that person was ready to make sure she disappeared.
