Chapter 9 - The Girl I Saved Became My Daughter and the Billionaire Who Once Terrified Detroit Became the Man Who Built His Life Around UsThree years passed.
Belle was nine.
Happy.
Healthy.
Brave.
She still hated hospitals.
She still loved chocolate.
She still carried the little phone from the garage.
Harlan's companies had become legitimate.
The foundation grew.
Our community centers expanded.
My restaurant became successful.
People began calling me the woman who saved Harlan Voss's daughter.
I hated the title.
I hadn't saved a billionaire's daughter.
I had helped a child.
That was all.
But Belle thought differently.
One afternoon, she gave me a drawing.
Three people.
Holding hands.
A restaurant.
A lake house.
And a giant black SUV.
I laughed.
“What's the car?”
“Daddy.”
“Why?”
“He likes cars.”
Harlan walked in.
“That is slander.”
I smiled.
Belle hugged him.
“Dad.”
He stopped.
She hadn't called him that in a while.
Not since she started calling him by his first name.
He looked emotional.
I saw it.
Belle saw it too.
She hugged him tighter.
“You're my daddy.”
He closed his eyes.
“I know.”
Then she turned to me.
“And you're my mom.”
I cried.
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I didn't need a wedding ring to know.
We were already family.
