“You son of a bitch!” Julian roared, his face crimson with rage. He threw a wild
punch at Adrian.
Adrian, taller and clearly more skilled, sidestepped it easily and met Julian’s jaw
1/9
06:38
08.38
with a clean, sharp jab. Seeing her brother hit the ground, Jessica went berserk.
She lunged at me, claws out, trying to grab Lily. I stumbled backward, shielding my daughter with my body.
“Daddy, Daddy, she’s trying to hurt Mommy!” Lily shrieked.
Adrian immediately stopped his one–sided takedown of Julian and was a my
side in an instant, blocking Jessica’s flailing hands. Seeing the situation was not
in their favor, with Julian now sporting a rapidly bruising face, Jessica pulled
out her phone and called the police.
She crossed her arms, smirking. “You have one last chance to apologize and
give us back our child. Otherwise, you’ll regret this.”
A smug look returned to Julian’s face. He was a prominent businessman in the
city, a major contributor to the local economy. And as far as he was concerned,
the child was his. He was confident the law would be on his side.
He looked at me. “Apologize now, Elara. If you don’t, we’re taking the child, and
you will never see her again.”
I just stared back at him, my silence colder than any insult.
Before long, the police commissioner himself arrived. His car pulled up, and he
hurried over, his eyes scanning the scene. “What’s all this? Is everyone alright?”
he boomed, his eyes landing on Julian’s bruised face.
Julian’s face lit up. “This man! He assaulted me!”
The commissioner’s expression immediately soured. He turned to Julian with a look of pure fury. Julian faltered, confused, just as the commissioner turned to
my husband and bowed his head slightly.
“Mr. Hale,” he said deferentially. “Is this the man who assaulted you?”
Adrian’s voice was calm. “Assault might be too strong a word. He was, however,
06.38
Chapter 2
attempting to kidnap my daughter.”
“That’s a lie!” Julian shouted. “She’s my biological daughter with Elara!”
06:38
The commissioner rounded on him. “Your daughter? She is quite obviously daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hale!” It wasn’t just sycophantic pandering; the comm- issioner knew Adrian through various city development projects. He’d seen the wedding announcements, the pregnancy updates, the “mother and daughter are doing well” post on Adrian’s private social media. He had witnessed our family’s story unfold.
To him, Julian’s claim was preposterous. “Use your eyes, man!” the commissio- ner bellowed. “She has her father’s nose, her mother’s eyes! What part of her
looks like you?”
But Julian was convinced this was a conspiracy. “I can’t believe you’re siding with this snake who stole my fiancée and my child!” he spat. “You’ll all regret this! We’re not finished!”
With that, he and Jessica stormed off, muttering threats.
The commissioner reassured us. “Don’t you worry, Mr. Hale. We’ll keep an eye on him. He won’t be able to do anything illegal.”
I appreciated the sentiment, but I had a feeling Julian’s retaliation wouldn’t be so straightforward. And it came much sooner than I expected.
Chapter 2
attempting to kidnap my daughter.”
“That’s a lie!” Julian shouted, “She’s my biological daughter with Elara!”
Comm
The commissioner rounded on him. “Your daughter? She is quite obviously the
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hale!” It wasn’t just sycophantic pandering:
issioner knew Adrian through various city development projects. He’d se the
wedding announcements, the pregnancy updates, the “mother and daughter are doing well” post on Adrian’s private social media. He had witnessed our family’s
story unfold.
To him, Julian’s claim was preposterous. “Use your eyes, man!” the commissio-
ner bellowed, “She has her father’s nose, her mother’s eyes! What part of her
looks like you?”
But Julian was convinced this was a conspiracy, “I can’t believe you’re siding
with this snake who stole my fiancée and my child!” he spat. “You’ll all regret
this! We’re not finished!”
With that, he and Jessica stormed off, muttering threats.
The commissioner reassured us. “Don’t you worry, Mr. Hale. We’ll keep an eye on
him. He won’t be able to do anything illegal,”
I appreciated the sentiment, but I had a feeling Julian’s retaliation wouldn’t be so
straightforward. And it came much sooner than I expected.
