Chapter 2 - The Daughter I Never Knew Existed
I did not sleep.
Neither did Isabella.
At 2:00 in the morning, I sat in the security room watching old footage from the night Isabella had worked her first shift.
Every entry.
Every exit.
Every camera.
She had followed routine perfectly.
No suspicious activity.
No unauthorized contact.
Nothing.
But if Lily was my daughter, the question was no longer why she had entered my house.
It was why she had entered it now.
Rafael entered carrying a file.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“The scholarship application.”
He placed it on the desk.
I read it.
Isabella had submitted the application three months earlier.
The foundation had accepted Lily because of her grades and financial need.
Nothing strange.
Then I noticed the emergency contact.
A name.
Daniel Reyes.
I looked at Rafael.
“Who's Daniel Reyes?”
“Her brother?”
I shook my head.
“No. Isabella's daughter was registered under her mother's surname.”
Rafael checked the records.
“There is no Daniel Reyes.”
“Then somebody invented him.”
He nodded.
“Why?”
“That's what I want to know.”
I went upstairs.
Isabella was sitting beside Lily's bed.
The child slept peacefully.
I stood in the doorway.
She looked up.
“You should sleep.”
“So should you.”
“How did you know?”
“I raised six-year-olds.”
“You don't have children.”
“No.”
I stepped inside.
“But I have people who have disappointed me.”
She smiled weakly.
I looked at Lily.
“She looks like me.”
Isabella's eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since she was born.”
“You had no doubt?”
“No.”
“Did you ever think about telling me?”
“Every day.”
“Then why didn't you?”
“Because your enemies were looking for me.”
“Why?”
She hesitated.
“Because of what I saw the night you were attacked.”
I sat across from her.
“Tell me.”
“After I found you, two men came into the alley.”
“I remember.”
“You were barely conscious.”
“I remember a red car.”
She nodded.
“That was them.”
“Who?”
“Your father's old lieutenant.”
My body went still.
“My father is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then what does his lieutenant have to do with this?”
“Everything.”
She reached into her pocket and removed a small silver pendant.
I recognized it immediately.
My family crest.
I hadn't seen it in eight years.
“What is that?”
“You gave it to me.”
“I don't remember.”
“You were delirious.”
I stared at it.
She continued.
“You thought I was someone else.”
“Who?”
“Your mother.”
I swallowed.
“You told me to keep it.”
“Why?”
“Because you said it contained the only thing that could expose the men who betrayed your family.”
I remembered fragments.
Pain.
Blood.
A woman's voice.
My pendant.
A promise.
But nothing more.
“Is there something inside it?”
“Yes.”
She opened the pendant.
A tiny memory card sat inside.
My heart stopped.
“You've had this for eight years?”
“Yes.”
“You could have given it to me.”
“I could have.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because you were still surrounded by the people who wanted you dead.”
I stared at the card.
“What is on it?”
“I don't know.”
“You never opened it?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because your words were clear.”
“What did I say?”
She looked at me.
“If anyone asks, destroy it.”
My jaw tightened.
“And you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because you trusted me.”
The silence between us became almost unbearable.
I looked toward Lily.
“How did you know she was mine?”
“Because you were the only man I'd been with.”
My throat tightened.
“After I saved you?”
“Yes.”
I stared.
She looked down.
“You were in pain. I didn't know if you would live.”
“And then?”
“Two days later, you woke.”
“I remember waking.”
“You asked my name.”
“You never told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“Then how did we—”
She stopped him with a look.
“You were frightened. I was frightened. We both thought we might die.”
I didn't press further.
The memory was painful enough.
She whispered:
“I left before your men found me.”
“When?”
“Before sunrise.”
“Why?”
“Because I was pregnant.”
I closed my eyes.
Eight years.
A daughter.
A life.
A family I never knew existed.
I thought about Sofia.
Tomorrow I was supposed to marry another woman.
I had thought I was losing a child.
Now I had discovered I had one.
The universe had a cruel sense of timing.
“What happened to Lily's father?”
Isabella looked at me.
“You are.”
I almost laughed from the shock.
“You know what I mean.”
“There was no one else.”
I nodded.
Then Lily stirred.
She opened her eyes.
“Mama?”
“Yes, baby.”
“Is Daddy Wolf here?”
I froze.
Isabella looked embarrassed.
“You've been calling me that?”
Lily smiled.
“He has wolf eyes.”
I sat beside her.
“Do you know who I am?”
She thought about it.
“The man from Mommy's story.”
My heart clenched.
“What story?”
“She said you were the bravest scared person she'd ever met.”
I looked at Isabella.
She closed her eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
“No.”
I looked back at Lily.
“I like that story.”
Lily smiled.
“Can you stay?”
I answered without hesitation.
“Yes.”
She reached for my hand.
Her fingers were tiny.
Warm.
I held them.
She fell asleep again.
I stayed beside her.
At sunrise, Sofia arrived.
She walked into the mansion like she still owned it.
“Alessandro.”
I met her in the foyer.
She looked immaculate.
Cream coat.
Diamond earrings.
Perfect hair.
Not a trace of the woman who had confessed the day before.
“We need to talk.”
“We're done.”
Her face tightened.
“About the baby?”
“Yes.”
She glanced around.
“Where's the nursery?”
“Closed.”
“What?”
I stepped closer.
“The child you were carrying was never mine.”
She lifted her chin.
“I know.”
“And you planned to marry me anyway.”
“You loved me.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“You would have raised the baby.”
Her voice was colder now.
“You were ready to.”
I stared at her.
“You used that.”
“Yes.”
She didn't deny it.
Something about that honesty was more disturbing than her lies.
“Who is the father?”
She smiled.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.”
“He doesn't want the child.”
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“It's over.”
“No.”
“You can't force me to tell you.”
“I don't need to.”
I held out my phone.
A photograph appeared.
Sofia leaving a private clinic.
A man beside her.
Victor Kovalenko's younger brother.
Sofia's face changed.
“You've been watching me.”
“I've been watching everyone.”
She stepped closer.
“He never meant anything.”
“You were carrying his child.”
She whispered:
“Things happen.”
I stared.
Then she looked past me.
Her eyes landed on Isabella.
For one second, genuine fear crossed her face.
Then she saw Lily.
Her expression went completely still.
“Who is that?”
“My daughter.”
Sofia laughed once.
“Your what?”
I looked at Isabella.
She took Lily's hand.
“My daughter.”
Sofia stared.
“No.”
I said:
“Yes.”
Sofia's face drained.
“How?”
“That's no longer your concern.”
She looked at Isabella.
“You.”
Isabella didn't move.
“You're the woman from the alley.”
My attention snapped toward her.
Sofia had seen Isabella before.
“You know her?”
Sofia backed away.
“I've seen her.”
“Where?”
“At the old Moretti warehouse.”
Isabella went pale.
“When?”
“Before I met Alessandro.”
I stared at Sofia.
“What were you doing there?”
She smiled.
“Ask your maid.”
Then she turned and walked away.
I stopped her.
“You're not leaving.”
She looked over her shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because you just told me you know something about my past.”
She smiled.
“You're finally asking the right questions.”
That afternoon, Lily's DNA test was performed.
I didn't tell anyone except Rafael and the doctor.
The result arrived six hours later.
99.99%.
Paternity confirmed.
My daughter.
I sat alone in my office reading the report.
I had built empires.
Destroyed enemies.
Survived bullets.
But seeing those numbers reduced me to a man staring at a piece of paper with tears in his eyes.
Rafael entered quietly.
“Boss?”
I held up the report.
“She's mine.”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
I looked toward the window.
“Then she is the most important person in this house.”
Rafael nodded.
“And Isabella?”
I looked at him.
“She saved my life.”
May you like
Then I stared at the report again.
“Now I need to save hers.”
