Chapter 10 - The Daddy She Chose
Five years later, Mia was eleven.
She still called Adrian Daddy.
Ethan remained part of her life.
Richard was serving a lengthy prison sentence for financial crimes and attempted murder.
The Kane empire changed completely.
Adrian rebuilt the company around ethical leadership.
I became creative director of a new division.
And Mia?
She still ruled the household.
One Sunday morning, I found her sitting beside Adrian at the kitchen table.
She looked at him seriously.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Do you remember when I first met you?”
He smiled.
“You told me I was handsome.”
“You were.”
“And then?”
“I told you to be my daddy.”
He laughed.
“Yes.”
Mia smiled.
“But you know what?”
“What?”
“I was wrong.”
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
“About what?”
“You didn't become my daddy.”
She paused.
“You became my family.”
Adrian's eyes filled with tears.
He hugged her.
I stood in the doorway, smiling.
The little girl who had once wandered into an executive hallway looking for someone kind had found exactly what she needed.
Not a replacement father.
Not a billionaire.
Not a hero.
A family.
And Adrian?
He had spent his entire life believing love was a weakness.
Until a six-year-old girl looked at him in front of an entire executive floor and changed everything with one innocent sentence.
“I think you should be my daddy.”
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Years later, he still said it was the most important job interview he'd ever passed.
And every morning, when Mia ran into his arms, he knew he had gotten the answer right.
