Black luxury cars stopped one by one — in silence, like predators waiting for the right moment.
The man in the black suit, with a discreet earpiece, stepped out of the first car and looked up at the balcony of the apartment on the third floor.
Without knocking, he walked straight up, exuding the confidence of someone who knows exactly where they are going.
Lidia had just poured herself some tea and nearly dropped her cup when she heard a knock on the door — short and decisive.
“Who’s there?” she asked in a quiet voice.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Lidia. Please, don’t be alarmed. I’m from Mr. Andrei’s security service… or rather, Mr. Andrei Rădulescu.”
Lidia opened the door with a pounding heart. In front of her stood an imposing man with a cool, but polite look. With a discreet gesture, he signaled to her:
“Mr. Rădulescu would like to see you. Right now.”
“Rădulescu? I don’t understand… I just took him to the hospital…”
“We know everything, ma’am. And that’s exactly why you need to come with us.”
A cold shiver ran down Lidia’s spine. She grabbed her coat and followed him, not asking too many questions. In the car, no one spoke.
Only the rain rhythmically tapped on the windows, and a gun was discreetly attached to the seatbelt in the front.
After an hour’s drive, they arrived at an expansive estate with iron gates and softly lit paths.
The villa was even more impressive than the one they had seen the previous evening at the party. Everything looked like something out of a movie — or a nightmare.
On the luxurious living room couch, Andrei reclined on the cushions, dressed in a silk robe. He looked different now — clean, shaved, with alert eyes and a deep voice.
“Lidia, please come in.”
The girl entered hesitantly, feeling completely out of place in this setting. He smiled faintly and with gratitude.
“You saved me. You can’t imagine what you pulled me out of. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know if I would still be alive.”
“I… I just did what anyone would have done…”
“No, most people simply walk by those lying on the street. You stopped. You paid, and you stayed with me. And that happens in a world where no one does anything without their own interest.”
Andrei made a discreet gesture, and a man entered with a red velvet box. He opened it in front of Lidia — inside were car keys and a bank card.
“The key belongs to your new taxi — a hybrid, fully equipped. The card has ten thousand euros on it. It will be transferred to you today.”
“This is just a small part of what I want to offer you. I want you to be my personal driver. Really.”
“Three times what you earn now. And when your child is born, they should have everything they need.”
Lidia was left speechless. Her eyes filled with tears, but deep down, she felt a strange sense of peace — as if confirming that she had done the right thing.
A gesture of humanity in a world that had forgotten what it meant to be human.
And though she didn’t know it yet, her life was about to change forever.