Chapter 4 - The DNA Verdict and the First Move
I stood up instantly, stepping between the two men and the bed where Sophie was just starting to stir, rubbing her eyes.
"You’re in the wrong room," I said, my voice dripping with lethal corporate authority.
The second man smirked, reaching inside his jacket. "We don't have business with you, corporate boy. Step aside before you become collateral damage."
"Marcus," I spoke clearly into my smart-watch.
Within three seconds, the door behind the two thugs exploded inward. Marcus and three of my personal security detail, all former Tier-1 operators, flooded the room. The confrontation was silent, brutal, and over in less than ten seconds. The two mob enforcers were disarmed, pinned to the floor, and dragged out through the service elevator before the floor nurses even realized what had happened.
"Pack everything," I ordered Marcus. "We are moving them now."
By noon, Elena and Sophie were safely installed in my high-security estate in Lake Forest. My private physician, Dr. Alana Vance, was already adjusting Elena’s pain medication and coordinating an advanced oncology plan.
As I stood on the balcony overlooking the sprawling lawns, my phone chimed. It was a secure email from the private lab.
PATERNITY TEST RESULTS: ALLEGED FATHER: MICHAEL HARRISON - 99.99% PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY. CHILD: SOPHIE GRACE RUSSO.
A profound wave of emotion washed over me. I dropped into a chair, burying my face in my hands. She was mine. The little girl who took her shoes off so they wouldn't get dirty on a hospital radiator was my daughter.
"Daddy?"
I opened my eyes. Sophie was standing at the glass door of the balcony, clutching a worn, brown teddy bear. She looked at me with those wide, perceptive eyes.
May you like
"Mom said I could call you that now," she whispered.
I knelt down, my heart swelling to the point of aching, and opened my arms. She ran into them, her small arms wrapping tightly around my neck. "I’ve got you," I whispered into her hair, blinking back my own tears. "I’ve got you both now. No one is ever going to hurt you again."
