"Any news?"

"No, sir."

"Bloody hell." Simon pushed the chair forward and it bumped into the edge of the table.

She disappeared two months ago. Just ran away one day when he left for a meeting on new supplies from Scotland. Evelyn always seemed the same as him, a serious and enduring woman. She married him as a civilian, an ordinary girl who, before meeting Simon, thought that the mafia existed only in documentaries and dark novels. But that was the reality she accepted after marrying him.

For her sake, he broke a sacred law, married an outsider. And she? She ran away. And his people couldn't find her.

A few months later, on the outskirts of Manchester, you were returning home after your tiring shift. This sandwich place has always been an attraction for all kinds of rabble, so every time you were alone on the night shift, you had to wait patiently for a group of homeless people to leave the building. And your boss, the jerk he is, seemed to know that you, as the student, and the girl had no choice. You needed the money.

At first you thought that the thing on your doorstep was a package. Maybe the neighbors got the wrong address again, or the courier got the apartment numbers wrong? But then the bundle moved and let out a soft cry, and you immediately squatted down, gently unwrapping the blanket.

It was a baby. The boy, as you later found out by bringing him inside your apartment. Barely a month old, rosy-cheeked, with short blond hair. You could tell from the note that whoever his parent was, the person clearly didn't think they could give this kid a good future. You could have called a special service, and the common sense inside you told you to do just that.

But you knew from your own example what it was like to be in custody. And you couldn't wish this little boy the same fate.

So you kept him for yourself, trying to combine classes, work, and caring for a baby whose origins you had no idea about. Until they broke into your apartment.

Several people in black suits, they kicked down your flimsy door and pointed guns in your direction while you were blocking the cheap wooden crib in which the baby was. Simon barely gave you a glance when he came closer and took a look. Child. Evelyn was pregnant, so she ran away.

"Fuck." He cursed, gesturing for his guys to put down their guns. There was no point in scaring this kid, his son.

"He's not mine! I- I found him on my doorstep a month ago." You justified yourself, still shaking inwardly with fear.

Simon could tell by the look in your eyes that you weren't a kidnapper, no. A young student with a big heart who could barely afford anything, but still took care of a baby she barely knew. She protected his son, while his own mother chose to run away instead of staying in the world his father lived in.

"He's ma son. I'm takin' him with me." He said, quickly looking you up and down. "And ya. Ya're comin' with me too."

He wasn't going to trust anyone else after Evelyn's betrayal, no. He just didn't want you to go to the police after witnessing him break into your house. But still, the fact that you took care of the boy made his heart skip a beat. Just for a moment.