Chapter 1 - THE LITTLE GIRL WHO MADE THE MAFIA BOSS CRY
The study door opened just wide enough for a small face to appear.
Michael Bennett recognized the little girl immediately.
Lily Harper.
Six years old, with curly brown hair, round green eyes, and a pale yellow dress that was slightly too big for her.
Her mother, Grace, had worked as his housekeeper for four years.
Lily occasionally accompanied her when school was closed, and Michael had grown accustomed to finding colorful drawings in unexpected places around the mansion.
But today was different.
Today, he wanted to be alone.
“Who let you in?” he asked.
Lily held up a paper plate.
“Nobody. Mommy said you didn't eat breakfast.”
Michael stared at the two cookies on the plate.
“I’m not hungry.”
“That’s okay. You can eat them when you are.”
She walked toward him and placed the plate on his desk.
Then she noticed the white wedding flowers outside the window.
“Your party is over?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s the pretty lady?”
Michael’s fingers tightened against his wheelchair.
“She decided she didn’t want to marry me.”
Lily looked confused.
“Why?”
For a moment, Michael considered telling her that grown-ups sometimes made promises they couldn't keep.
Instead, he simply said, “I don't know.”
The little girl studied him.
Then she walked closer and placed one small hand on his knee.
“Don't be sad, Mr. Bennett. I'll marry you when I grow up.”
Michael went completely still.
He had endured the humiliation of three hundred wedding guests.
He had watched an old rival smile at his misery.
He had read a letter suggesting that the woman he loved considered his disability unbearable.
But this innocent little girl, offering him the only comfort she could imagine, nearly broke him.
He looked away.
“Lily, you have your whole life ahead of you. When you grow up, you should follow your dreams and choose the person you love.”
She thought about that.
“Can I still be your friend?”
His voice became unsteady.
“I'd like that very much.”
“Good. Because you look like you need one.”
For the first time that day, Michael laughed.
Then Lily climbed onto the chair opposite him.
“Mr. Bennett?”
“Yes?”
“Was Miss Claire supposed to cry at the wedding?”
Michael's smile disappeared.
“What?”
“I saw her crying.”
“When?”
“Before everybody sat down.”
Michael straightened.
“Where did you see her?”
“Near the garage. She was wearing her white dress, but she didn't have her flowers anymore.”
A cold sensation moved through him.
According to Walter, Claire had left the estate before the ceremony.
Nobody had mentioned her being near the garage.
“Was she alone?”
Lily shook her head.
“There was a man with her.”
“What man?”
“He was holding her arm.”
Michael's heartbeat accelerated.
“Do you remember what he looked like?”
“He was wearing a black suit. He told her to stop making trouble.”
Michael moved closer.
“Lily, did you recognize him?”
She nodded.
Then she whispered something that changed the entire meaning of the wedding.
“It was Mr. Victor.”
Victor Kane.
Michael's own head of security.
The man who had organized the wedding's security arrangements.
The man who had personally assured Michael that Claire had left voluntarily.
Michael reached for his phone.
Then Lily added one final detail.
“Mr. Victor put Miss Claire in the black car. She was knocking on the window when it drove away.”
Michael's hand froze.
May you like
His bride hadn't simply abandoned him.
Someone had taken her.
