Chapter 4 - The Stolen Blanket
The security guard turned pale, realizing he had just drawn the devastating wrath of the building’s owner.
Dante ignored him completely. He dropped to one knee on the cold, wet marble floor, entirely ruining his expensive black suit trousers. He didn't care. He brought his face perfectly level with the seven-year-old girl in the pink coat.
Dante’s hands trembled visibly as he reached out, not to touch Maya, but to brush his fingertips against the fuzzy beige coat wrapping the sleeping infant.
He recognized the custom stitching. He recognized the exact shade of the fabric. It was a handcrafted, designer baby coat he had personally ordered from Milan six months ago for his unborn daughter.
"Where did you get this coat, little one?" Dante whispered, his voice cracking with a raw, desperate emotion he hadn't felt since his wife's tragic accident a month ago.
Maya blinked, clutching the baby tighter. "It's Lily's. Aunt Sarah told the doctors to put her in a box, but I took her out of the hospital window. I promised my mom I would protect her."
All the air rushed out of Dante's lungs.
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His wife, Elena, had died in a car crash four weeks ago. His treacherous sister-in-law, Sarah, had tearfully informed Dante that the baby hadn't survived the trauma, and that Elena's stepdaughter, Maya, had run away from home in grief.
👉 Dante realized his sister-in-law had orchestrated a monstrous lie to steal his empire, and the true heirs were standing right in front of him.
