Chapter 1 - The Man Who Found Us“He’s coming because he just found out who rescued you.”
I stared at Elias Vance.
For a moment, I couldn't understand what he meant.
My husband had never cared enough to look for me.
He had never asked whether our daughters were alive.
He had thrown us away because I had given birth to two girls instead of the son he wanted.
So why would he suddenly care who had found us?
“Why?” I whispered.
Elias stood beside the window, the city glowing behind him.
“Because your husband is not an ordinary man.”
I swallowed.
“I know who he is.”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“You knew who he pretended to be.”
That sentence sent a chill through me.
Before I could ask another question, the door opened.
A tall man in a black suit entered.
“Boss.”
Elias turned.
“Talk.”
“We traced Miller's calls.”
My heart began pounding.
The man continued.
“He contacted three people this morning.”
“Who?”
“Two are connected to the Valenti organization.”
Elias's expression hardened.
“And the third?”
The man hesitated.
“Your uncle.”
Silence filled the room.
Elias slowly turned toward me.
I had never seen fear in his eyes.
But something close to anger appeared there.
“What does my husband want from your uncle?” I asked.
Elias didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward the crib.
My daughters were sleeping peacefully.
One had her tiny fist tucked beneath her cheek.
The other had her mouth slightly open.
Elias stared at them for several seconds.
Then he said,
“Your husband isn't trying to get you back.”
He looked at me.
“He's trying to get access to them.”
“Why?”
“Because one of your daughters may be worth more to him than a son ever could have been.”
My stomach tightened.
“I don't understand.”
“You will.”
He picked up the file.
“Your husband has been hiding something from you.”
“What?”
Elias opened the folder.
Inside were photographs.
Bank records.
Company documents.
And one photograph that made my blood run cold.
It showed my husband standing beside a group of men I had never seen before.
One of them was holding a newspaper.
The headline read:
MILLER FAMILY BUSINESS UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION
I looked at Elias.
“What does this have to do with my babies?”
“Everything.”
He closed the folder.
“Your husband owes powerful people money.”
“How much?”
“More than he can ever repay.”
I felt dizzy.
“So he abandoned us because…”
“Because he believed your daughters were useless.”
Elias's jaw tightened.
“But then he discovered something.”
“What?”
“Your daughters were born with rights to an inheritance.”
I stared at him.
“My daughters?”
“Yes.”
He walked toward me.
“Your father wasn't a poor man, Ava.”
I stopped breathing.
“My father died when I was young.”
“That's what you were told.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Elias placed another document in front of me.
A legal trust.
My father's name appeared at the top.
My hands trembled.
“He left everything to you.”
“No.”
“To you,” Elias repeated.
“Except the trust activates only after the birth of your first child.”
I stared at the paper.
“My first child?”
“Children.”
His eyes moved toward the crib.
“Your twin daughters.”
The room seemed to spin.
My husband hadn't abandoned us because he believed we were worthless.
He had abandoned us because he thought he could later take what belonged to them.
And somehow...
He had discovered the truth before I had.
Elias reached for the phone.
“From this moment forward, nobody gets near you or those girls without going through me.”
I looked at him.
“Why are you doing this?”
His expression softened for the first time.
“Because when I found you under that bridge, you were protecting your babies with your own body.”
May you like
He looked toward the crib.
“Someone should have protected you.”
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