Chapter 2 - The Fallen Strap
Elena stumbled backward, her breath hitching in her throat as sheer, unadulterated terror flooded her veins.
The ruthless billionaire didn't break eye contact. Adrian’s dark eyes swept over her, taking in the sage green silk, the fear on her face, and finally, the small child clutched desperately in her arms. He took a slow, heavy step forward, his polished leather shoes clicking ominously against the marble floor.
"Adrian... let us leave," Elena pleaded, her voice panicked and breathless.
She turned her body, shielding little Mara from his piercing gaze. But in her frantic, desperate attempt to hold the squirming two-year-old tighter, the delicate fabric of Mara’s matching sage green dress snagged against Elena’s bracelet.
As the toddler twisted in her mother's arms, the small sleeve of the green dress slipped smoothly off the child’s left shoulder.
Adrian’s intense, commanding gaze instinctively dropped to the child. He was fully prepared to order his armed security guards to drag his runaway wife out to his waiting convoy. But the words died in his throat.
Right there, resting clearly on the soft skin of the toddler’s exposed shoulder, was a very distinct, dark birthmark. It was shaped like a jagged crescent moon.
Adrian completely froze.
The terrifying, cold expression of the untouchable mafia boss instantly vanished, replaced by sheer, suffocating shock. The air was violently sucked out of his lungs. His chest stopped moving entirely as his eyes locked onto the rare mark.
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It wasn't just a random blemish. It was the exact same genetic birthmark that Adrian had on his own shoulder. A mark that only the direct bloodline of the Vale family carried.
👉 Adrian realized he was staring at his own flesh and blood, but Elena’s frantic denial was about to tear his heart apart.
