Chapter 1: The Little Girl Who Saved a Dying King
“Mister… are you dying like me?”
The tiny voice echoed through the marble hallway of the Moretti mansion.
Seven-year-old Lily Carter stood barefoot in her pajamas, clutching a worn stuffed rabbit in one hand and her last asthma inhaler in the other. On the floor before her lay Lucas Moretti—the billionaire feared across New York.
His face was pale.
His lips were blue.
He was choking, desperately fighting for air.
Lily knew that terror. She lived with it every day.
Without hesitation, she knelt beside him and pressed her inhaler into his mouth.
Once.
Nothing.
Twice.
Still nothing.
Tears filled her eyes as she whispered, “Please come back.”
The third press changed everything.
Lucas's body jerked violently before a deep breath finally tore into his lungs.
Then another.
And another.
His eyes slowly opened.
The most powerful man in the city stared at the little girl who had just saved his life.
“I’m Lily,” she said softly. “I thought you were going to heaven.”
From the shadows nearby, Lucas's closest friend and longtime adviser, Victor Russo, watched silently.
His face remained calm.
But inside, panic exploded.
Because Lucas was never supposed to survive.
Three years earlier, Lucas had decided to leave the criminal empire hidden beneath the Moretti fortune. His wife Isabella and young son Daniel had convinced him there was still a chance for a normal life.
But before he could walk away, tragedy struck.
A car crash killed Isabella and Daniel instantly.
Police called it an accident.
Lucas never fully believed them.
Their deaths shattered him. He buried himself in work, surrounded himself with trusted men, and slowly lost faith in everyone.
Including himself.
What he never knew was that Victor Russo had orchestrated the crash.
Victor feared losing power if Lucas abandoned the empire. So he arranged the deaths and made it look like fate.
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For three years, Victor had remained untouchable.
Until a little girl gave Lucas one more chance to breathe.
