The Mafia Lord's Secret Lover (Evelyn) novel Chapter 303

Chapter 303: Unknown Number

"Axel, I need to meet you."

His eyes narrowed instantly.

The shock was not in the message itself but in the fact that an unknown number had reached him at all. Very few people had direct access to his cell phone.

Usually, everyone who contacts him goes through his secretary rather than reaching out directly.

"How did this unknown number get through?" he murmured.

His instincts flared.

Without hesitation, Axel typed out a message to Collins.

"How is an unknown number able to contact my phone? Investigate immediately. I am turning off my phone. Call me at my private number."

He sent the message, then powered the device down.

The silence that followed felt heavy, charged with something unseen.

Axel slipped the phone back into his pocket, his expression slowly dark and alert.

... 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

As the morning began to break, Axel Knight gently rose from the sofa and approached Oliver’s bed.

He lingered for a moment, watching his son’s chest rise and fall. Only then did he allow himself to relax.

Satisfied, he left the bedroom and gently closed the door.

Then Axel walks down to the first floor.

The house was still. Suspended in that rare moment between night and morning.

"Master?"

Axel had just reached the bottom of the staircase when a familiar voice startled him.

Jimmy emerged from the back corridor, already dressed in his work attire, his eyes wide with surprise. "Master, you’re already awake? Do you need anything, sir?"

Axel paused, one hand resting lightly on the railing. He studied Jimmy for a second, as if organizing his thoughts.

"Can you ask Danny to cook something warm and healthy?" he said. "For Oliver and my wife. Oliver might wake up in an hour."

Jimmy straightened instantly. "Yes, sir. I will take care of it." He bowed quickly and disappeared toward the kitchen, already muttering about soup and fresh bread as he went.

Axel exhaled and continued toward his bedroom. Halfway down the hall, he slipped his phone from his pocket, intending to check the time. The screen lit up, and his steps halted.

Several unread messages.

From Collins.

Axel frowned and leaned against the wall, scrolling.

"No one hacked your phone. It’s clean. But I also don’t know why an unsaved number could reach you."

"Sir, no worries. I’ve added additional layers of protection. I guarantee no one can text you without you saving their number."

"I will report later on how that person managed to contact you."

Axel pinched his brow and let out a slow breath. He would not blame Collins. At least not yet.

Still, the situation unsettled him more than he cared to admit.

An unknown number.

That alone was strange enough. And the tone of the original message lingered in his mind, persistent and irritating in a way he could not quite define.

Axel typed his reply carefully.

"So who is the person who texted me, and what does the message mean?"

He read it once. Then again. Satisfied, he hit send.

As the message disappeared from the screen, a faint tension settled in his chest. He did not know why, but his instincts whispered that the sender was a woman. There was no logic to it, no evidence, only a gut feeling that refused to be ignored.

"Sir, her name is Harper Cooper. She is a supermodel. She was once the Brand Ambassador for one of Apex Holdings’ subsidiary companies."

He frowned.

The name settled into his mind with an uncomfortable familiarity. Harper Cooper. He knew that name. He just could not immediately place it, and that alone irritated him.

Before he could respond, the phone vibrated again.

"If I remember correctly, you met her on New Year’s Eve a few years ago, sir."

Axel closed his eyes.

Then another message appeared.

"I will send you her picture."

His eyes snapped open.

"No," Axel hissed under his breath. "Absolutely not."

He typed furiously.

"Don’t send any pictures!"

He hit send and exhaled, rubbing his face with one hand. The last thing he needed was a female photo lighting up his screen when Evelyn only lay ten steps away, perfectly capable of waking up and immediately drawing the worst possible conclusions.

His gaze drifted toward the window, but his thoughts were already elsewhere.

New Year’s Eve.

Champagne. Music. A contract dinner disguised as a celebration. Harper Cooper, radiant and unapologetically bold, was assigned to him for appearances, introductions, and expectations that had been made painfully clear.

That night, he was supposed to end the year with Harper Cooper.

He had spent the entire night with Evelyn, and that choice left him without regret. In fact, he was grateful for the night he spent with her.

Axel glanced back at the bed, where his wife shifted slightly, murmuring something unintelligible before settling again. A faint smile touched his lips, equal parts affection and trouble.

"What does that woman want?" he muttered, tightening his grip on his cell phone.