CHAPTER 7 THE DAUGHTER HE WAS NEVER ALLOWED TO MEET
Adrian couldn't move.
The young woman stood only fifteen feet away.
Twenty years old.
Dark hair.
His eyes.
His mother's expression.
And the same small scar above the eyebrow that appeared in Lily's drawings.
But Adrian couldn't make his mind accept what his eyes were seeing.
"Maya."
The name came out like a question.
The young woman swallowed.
"Yes."
His mother stood beside her.
Evelyn Moretti.
The woman Adrian had buried seven years ago.
The woman whose funeral he had attended.
The woman whose death certificate sat in his private records.
Alive.
Standing in front of him.
And beside her—
his daughter.
The daughter he hadn't known existed.
Maya stared at him.
There was no anger in her expression.
That would have been easier.
Instead, there was uncertainty.
The kind that belonged to someone who had spent an entire lifetime wondering whether she was wanted.
Adrian lowered his weapon.
Slowly.
"Come here."
Maya didn't move.
Evelyn placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't."
Adrian looked at his mother.
"Stay out of this."
Evelyn smiled.
"You always were impatient."
"You lied to me."
"I protected you."
"You stole my daughter."
"I saved her."
Adrian's voice became dangerously quiet.
"From what?"
"From you."
The words struck the room like a slap.
Adrian stared.
Evelyn continued.
"You became your father's son."
"No."
"You built an empire."
"To survive."
"You became feared."
"Because I had to."
"You killed."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Don't pretend you know everything."
"I know enough."
She looked at Maya.
"Your daughter deserved a father who wasn't a monster."
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you would have come."
"Exactly."
"And everyone would have died."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Everyone?"
Evelyn's expression darkened.
"Everyone."
Gabriel raised his weapon.
"Don't listen to her."
Evelyn looked at him.
"You always were your mother's favorite mistake."
Gabriel laughed bitterly.
"And you always were a liar."
"Careful."
"You abandoned me."
"I saved you."
"You faked my death."
"I gave you a life."
"You destroyed Adrian's."
Evelyn's eyes shifted toward her son.
"I kept him alive."
Adrian stared.
"By poisoning me?"
"No."
Evelyn shook her head.
"Your father poisoned you."
Adrian froze.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"And you let it happen."
"I didn't have a choice."
"You always have a choice."
"Not when the people holding the knife have your children."
Adrian looked at Maya.
Evelyn continued.
"Your father wanted Adrian dead."
"Why?"
"Because he had discovered the trust."
Adrian frowned.
"I knew about the trust."
"No."
Evelyn shook her head.
"You knew the money."
She pointed toward Maya.
"You never knew what the trust actually controlled."
"What?"
"Ownership."
"Of what?"
"Everything your grandfather built."
Gabriel stepped forward.
"Ports."
Evelyn nodded.
"Shipping."
"Airlines."
"Private banks."
"Energy contracts."
"Real estate."
She looked at Adrian.
"Political leverage."
Adrian stared.
"Thirty-two billion."
Evelyn smiled.
"That was the public number."
Adrian's expression changed.
"How much?"
"One hundred and fourteen billion."
Silence.
Even Gabriel looked stunned.
"The trust has been growing for decades."
Adrian shook his head.
"Why hide it?"
"Because the person who controls it doesn't simply become wealthy."
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
"They become untouchable."
A gunshot sounded above them.
Everyone looked toward the ceiling.
Vincent's voice came through Adrian's earpiece.
"Boss."
Adrian touched it.
"Talk."
"We've got company."
"How many?"
"Too many."
Adrian looked at Evelyn.
"You brought them."
"No."
"Then who?"
"The Black Circle."
Adrian's expression hardened.
Vincent continued.
"They're inside the house."
"Get Sarah and Lily to the lake."
"Already moving."
"Keep them away from the main road."
"Understood."
The transmission ended.
Adrian turned to Maya.
"You're coming with me."
Maya looked at Evelyn.
Then back at him.
"I don't know you."
Adrian's chest tightened.
"I'm your father."
"That's what she told me."
Evelyn smiled.
"Because it's true."
Maya looked at Adrian.
"Then why weren't you there?"
He had no answer that could fit inside one sentence.
So he gave her the truth.
"Because I was afraid."
Maya blinked.
"Of me?"
"No."
He shook his head.
"Of losing you."
Her expression softened slightly.
Adrian continued.
"I thought staying away would keep you alive."
"And did it?"
"No."
He swallowed.
"It only kept me from knowing you."
Maya looked down.
For a moment, she seemed close to crying.
Then a voice echoed from upstairs.
"Adrian!"
He recognized it.
Vincent.
Then a burst of gunfire.
Maya flinched.
Adrian stepped toward her.
"Stay behind me."
She shook her head.
"I can take care of myself."
"I believe you."
He looked at her.
"But you don't have to do it alone anymore."
Something changed in her eyes.
Not trust.
Not yet.
But possibility.
They moved through the underground passage.
Evelyn remained behind.
Adrian stopped.
"You're not coming?"
She smiled.
"I know another way out."
"Where?"
"You'll find me when you're ready."
"I'll find you now."
"No."
She shook her head.
"You have two daughters to save."
Adrian stared at her.
"And after that?"
"Then we'll talk."
She disappeared through a side door.
Gabriel watched her go.
"You shouldn't trust her."
"I don't."
"Good."
Adrian looked at him.
"But she knows something we need."
Gabriel nodded.
"Yes."
"What?"
"The truth about Maya."
Adrian frowned.
"What about her?"
Gabriel lowered his voice.
"She's sick."
Adrian froze.
"What?"
"Not like you."
"Then what?"
"Neurological."
"How bad?"
Gabriel hesitated.
"Progressive."
Adrian's stomach dropped.
"How long?"
"Without treatment?"
Gabriel looked at Maya.
"Five years."
Adrian stopped walking.
Maya turned.
She had heard him.
"You knew?"
Gabriel nodded.
"I found out two years ago."
Adrian looked at Maya.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?"
Maya laughed softly.
"Because you weren't there."
The words cut deep.
Adrian stared at her.
"What do you have?"
"Nothing."
"Maya."
She looked away.
"My hands shake sometimes."
Adrian remembered his own trembling.
"How long?"
"Since I was sixteen."
He felt something break inside him.
"Why didn't they treat you?"
"They did."
"Who?"
"The people who raised me."
"Who?"
Maya hesitated.
"Doctors."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Black Circle doctors?"
She nodded.
"They said they were helping."
Adrian's voice became cold.
"They weren't."
Maya looked at him.
"I know."
"How?"
"Because I stopped taking their medication six months ago."
Adrian stared.
"Why?"
"Because I found the records."
"What records?"
Maya reached into her coat.
She removed a folded paper.
She handed it to him.
Adrian opened it.
His face changed.
It was a medical report.
His daughter's name.
Her genetic profile.
And one phrase highlighted in red:
SUBJECT MAYA MORETTI — GENETIC COMPATIBILITY: 99.8%
Below it:
RECOMMENDATION: DO NOT ALLOW SUBJECT TO REACH AGE 25.
Adrian's blood ran cold.
"Why twenty-five?"
Maya shook her head.
"I don't know."
Gabriel took the document.
His expression changed.
"I do."
Adrian looked at him.
"What?"
Gabriel pointed to another line.
TRUST ACTIVATION WINDOW: AGE 25.
Adrian understood.
"They need her alive until twenty-five."
Maya's face went pale.
"Why?"
"Because the trust opens then."
Adrian looked at her.
"They've been keeping you alive for the same reason they've been keeping me alive."
Maya swallowed.
"They need our blood."
Adrian nodded.
"And Lily's."
Maya looked confused.
"Who is Lily?"
Adrian's expression softened.
"Your sister."
Maya stared.
"I have a sister?"
"She's three."
Maya's eyes filled with tears.
"I thought I was alone."
Adrian reached toward her.
This time, she didn't step away.
She let him touch her shoulder.
"You're not."
A violent explosion shook the house.
The floor moved beneath them.
Maya grabbed Adrian.
Gabriel caught the wall.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Vincent's voice came through the earpiece.
"Boss!"
Adrian answered.
"What happened?"
"They breached the north entrance."
"Where are Sarah and Lily?"
"Moving toward the lake."
"How far?"
"Two minutes."
Adrian looked at Gabriel.
"Go."
Gabriel nodded.
"What about you?"
"I'll hold them."
Maya stepped forward.
"I'm staying."
"No."
"I'm part of this."
"You're my daughter."
"And that's exactly why I'm staying."
Adrian stared.
She had his stubbornness.
There was no question.
He almost smiled.
"Fine."
Gabriel looked between them.
"Both of you are insane."
Adrian raised his weapon.
"Family trait."
They moved.
The main corridor was filled with smoke.
Three men appeared through the haze.
Adrian fired.
One fell.
Gabriel fired.
Another dropped.
The third ran.
Maya raised a weapon.
Adrian looked at her.
"Don't."
She fired anyway.
The man collapsed.
Maya lowered the gun.
"I said I can take care of myself."
Adrian stared.
Then nodded.
"I believe you."
A fourth man appeared.
Then a fifth.
Then six.
The Black Circle had brought an army.
Adrian fired until his magazine emptied.
He reached for another.
Then—
pain.
His chest tightened.
His heart stumbled.
The world blurred.
Maya caught him.
"Dad!"
Adrian grabbed the wall.
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not."
He looked at her.
For a second, she looked terrified.
Not of the gunmen.
Of losing him.
"I can't lose you."
The words were barely audible.
Adrian stared.
He had spent twenty years believing he had nothing.
Now his daughters were terrified of losing him.
He forced himself upright.
"You won't."
Maya shook her head.
"You don't know that."
Adrian smiled.
"Neither do they."
He pointed toward the approaching gunmen.
"That's why we're leaving."
They reached the lake.
Snow covered the ground.
Sarah was already there.
Lily stood beside her.
The little girl saw Adrian.
"Daddy!"
She ran.
He caught her.
She wrapped her arms around him.
Then looked at Maya.
"Who is she?"
Adrian looked at Maya.
"This is your sister."
Lily stared.
"She looks like you."
Maya smiled.
"She does."
Lily reached out.
Maya crouched.
The little girl touched her face.
"You're pretty."
Maya laughed through tears.
"So are you."
Lily hugged her.
Maya froze.
Then slowly wrapped her arms around her sister.
Adrian watched.
For the first time, his family was standing in the same place.
Not hidden.
Not separated.
Not pretending.
Together.
Then headlights appeared through the trees.
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Everybody down."
The vehicle stopped.
A man stepped out.
He wasn't carrying a weapon.
He wore a gray suit.
He looked directly at Adrian.
Then at Maya.
Then Lily.
"Mr. Moretti."
Adrian raised his weapon.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled.
"My name doesn't matter."
He lifted a phone.
"But this does."
The screen showed a live video.
Adrian stared.
His face went pale.
The video showed his mother.
Evelyn.
Tied to a chair.
Behind her stood Victor.
Adrian's father.
And another man.
A man Adrian had never seen.
The stranger looked into the camera.
Then spoke.
"You have one hour."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"One hour for what?"
The stranger smiled.
"Bring me both daughters."
"Or your mother dies."
Adrian stared at the screen.
Maya grabbed his arm.
Lily held Sarah's hand.
Then the stranger added:
"And Adrian?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Don't bother calling Vincent."
A pause.
"He's already here."
Adrian turned.
Vincent stood twenty feet away.
His weapon lowered.
A man behind him held a gun to his head.
Adrian's blood ran cold.
The stranger smiled.
"Now you understand."
The screen went black.
Maya looked at Adrian.
"What do we do?"
Adrian stared at the darkness beyond the lake.
Then at his daughters.
His family.
His entire life had been built around protecting people by sacrificing himself.
This time, he would do something different.
He would fight.
Not for an empire.
Not for money.
Not for revenge.
For his children.
Adrian raised his weapon.
"Nobody takes my daughters."
Behind him, Gabriel whispered:
"That's what they were hoping you'd say."
Adrian looked at him.
Gabriel's face had gone pale.
"Why?"
Gabriel pointed toward the frozen lake.
A small red light blinked beneath the ice.
"Because that's where they planted the bomb."
The ice cracked.
Lily screamed.
May you like
And Adrian realized the enemy hadn't come to kidnap his daughters.
They had come to force him to choose which one would survive.
