Chapter 10 - THE CHILD THEY TRIED TO BREAK
Lily had been moved again.
No one told Nathan where.
The county claimed it was for “security reasons.”
Nathan knew better.
Marcus was isolating her.
Grace sat across from Richard.
“We need to get her out now.”
“We’re trying.”
“Trying isn’t enough.”
Richard looked exhausted.
“The custody hearing is tomorrow.”
Nathan entered holding Victoria’s flash drive.
“We won’t wait until tomorrow.”
He had found an email.
Marcus had arranged Lily’s transfer to a private child assessment facility.
The director was a longtime Cole Foundation donor.
Grace went pale.
“They’re going to make her say I kidnapped her.”
Nathan nodded.
“And then they’ll use it in court.”
Victoria sat in the corner.
“There’s a back entrance.”
Grace stared at her.
“How do you know?”
“My mother sent me there when I was fourteen.”
Silence.
Victoria looked away.
“She called it therapy.”
Her voice cracked.
“It was where rich families sent children who knew too much.”
Nathan stared at her.
“Take us there.”
Richard protested.
“If you go in without authorization, they’ll arrest you.”
Nathan picked up his coat.
“Then bring bail money.”
They reached the facility after dark.
Nathan demanded access.
The director refused.
Then a scream echoed down the hallway.
Grace knew that voice.
“Lily!”
She ran.
Security tried to stop her.
Nathan shoved through.
They found Lily sitting in a small room with two adults.
A camera faced her.
One woman spoke gently.
“Say it again, Lily.”
Lily was crying.
“No.”
“Your mommy told you to call Mr. Cole Daddy.”
“No.”
“She took you away from your real family.”
“No!”
Grace threw the door open.
“Get away from my daughter!”
Lily screamed.
“Mommy!”
She ran into Grace’s arms.
The director shouted for security.
Nathan stepped between them.
“Touch them and I will own this building by morning.”
“You have no legal authority.”
Nathan held up his phone.
“No.”
He turned the screen.
“But I have a live broadcast.”
The director froze.
Thousands of people were already watching.
Nathan had streamed everything.
The questioning.
The crying child.
The pressure.
The attempted coaching.
Marcus’s people had finally made a mistake in public.
Police arrived.
This time, Marcus couldn’t bury it.
Lily was released into temporary custody with Nathan pending the hearing.
That night, Nathan tucked Lily into bed.
She held his hand.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Are you really my daddy?”
Nathan’s chest tightened.
“Yes.”
“Forever?”
He smiled.
“Forever.”
Lily thought about that.
Then she whispered, “Mommy cries when she thinks I’m sleeping.”
Nathan looked toward the door.
“Why?”
“She thinks you’ll choose the big house instead of us.”
Nathan glanced around the mansion.
Then at his daughter.
“Lily?”
“Yes?”
“If I lost this house tomorrow, would you still call me Daddy?”
She giggled.
“Yeah.”
“Then I think I know what I’m choosing.”
The next morning, Nathan entered court ready to destroy his own empire.
But Marcus was already waiting.
And beside him sat a federal prosecutor.
Marcus smiled.
“Nathan.”
The prosecutor stood.
“Mr. Cole, you’re under investigation for corporate fraud.”
Nathan stopped.
Marcus leaned back.
“You wanted to burn the company.”
May you like
He smiled.
“So I lit the match first.”
