Chapter 3 - The Unanswered Question
The two massive security guards immediately tensed, ready to shove the child away, but Voss held up a single, black-gloved hand, stopping them.
Voss stared down at the six-year-old girl in the red dress.
A tight, cinematic close-up captured Voss’s face. The terrifying, arrogant intimidation completely evaporated. For a fraction of a second, the cold billionaire looked completely disarmed. He looked at her small, messy crayon drawing—a picture of a simple house with smoke coming out of the chimney.
"No," Voss whispered quietly, his voice losing its lethal edge. "I don't."
Lily tilted her head. "Then why are you trying to take our house away?"
The diner owner had let Mara and Lily live in the small apartment directly above the diner because they had nowhere else to go. If Voss demolished the diner, they wouldn't just lose their jobs. They would be entirely homeless on Christmas morning.
Voss’s jaw clenched. He looked away from the child, staring out the snowy window. He was a man who destroyed corporate empires for breakfast, but he was completely paralyzed by the profound innocence of a little girl in a yellow cardigan.
Mara, desperate to de-escalate the situation and save her daughter, stepped forward. She blurted out a personal question she instantly regretted.
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"Do you have children, Mr. Voss?" Mara asked hesitantly.
👉 What dark, devastating secret is the billionaire hiding behind his cold exterior?
