Chapter 4 - THE NIGHT THEY CAME FOR LILY
Everything happened at once.
Security guards rushed forward.
Damon pulled me behind the bed.
My mother screamed for help.
Another shot shattered the television.
Then the attackers disappeared into the hallway.
“Are you hurt?”
Damon grabbed my shoulders.
“No.”
“Lily?”
I turned.
The bassinet was empty.
My heart stopped.
“Lily!”
The nurse who had been standing beside her was gone.
I screamed.
“MY BABY!”
Damon's face changed.
“Lock the hospital down.”
Security personnel scattered.
I ran into the hallway.
“Lily!”
No answer.
Then I saw the nurse lying unconscious near the elevator.
The elevator doors were closing.
Damon sprinted.
He jammed his hand between them.
The doors opened.
Inside stood a man holding Lily.
I nearly collapsed.
Damon stepped forward.
“Put the child down.”
The man laughed.
“You're too late.”
He pressed something.
The elevator began descending.
Damon grabbed the emergency controls.
The elevator stopped between floors.
The man looked terrified.
Damon's voice was terrifyingly calm.
“You have three seconds.”
The man looked at Lily.
Then at Damon.
“Your father made a mistake protecting this family.”
Damon stepped closer.
“Two.”
The man dropped the baby.
Damon caught her.
“One.”
The attacker tried to reach for a weapon.
Security tackled him.
I grabbed Lily.
She was crying.
Alive.
I pressed her against my chest.
“Oh, God.”
Damon placed his hand gently against her back.
“She’s safe.”
I looked at him.
“How did they get inside?”
He didn't answer.
Then his phone rang.
He listened.
His expression darkened.
“What?”
A pause.
“Say that again.”
He looked at me.
“The hospital records show Lily's birth certificate was altered.”
My blood ran cold.
“What?”
“Someone has changed the father's name.”
I stared.
“What name?”
Damon hesitated.
Then:
“Julian Sterling.”
I almost laughed.
“That's impossible.”
“I know.”
“Lily is his daughter.”
“I know.”
“Then why would someone change it?”
Damon's gaze sharpened.
“Because the altered document gives Julian legal custody.”
My heart stopped.
“They're planning to take her.”
“Yes.”
I looked down at Lily.
“No.”
Damon stepped closer.
“They won't.”
“Why?”
“Because I'm going to make sure they regret trying.”
That night, Damon moved us to a secure estate outside Manhattan.
I refused at first.
Then he showed me the hospital footage.
Three separate attempts had been made to access Lily's room.
Someone inside the hospital had helped them.
I finally agreed.
At the estate, Lily slept peacefully.
I sat beside her crib.
Damon stood in the doorway.
“You should sleep.”
“I can't.”
“You need rest.”
“I keep thinking someone is going to take her.”
“No one will.”
“How can you promise that?”
He looked at me.
“Because I'll be standing between them and her.”
I stared at him.
“Why do you care this much?”
His expression softened.
“Because your father once did the same for me.”
I whispered:
“What happened between you and my father?”
Damon looked away.
“He saved my life.”
“How?”
“By taking a bullet meant for me.”
I froze.
May you like
Then he added:
“And that wasn't the only secret he left behind.”
