Chapter 10 - THE LITTLE GIRL WHO CALLED HIM A STRANGER
Gabriel Rossi had faced armed enemies without blinking.
But when he stood outside a small community center waiting to see Lily, his hands trembled.
Norah stood beside him.
Her wrist remained in a protective brace.
She had begun physical therapy.
The pain was improving.
But the emotional weight of everything she'd discovered was harder to carry.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Gabriel gave a humorless laugh.
“No.”
She smiled gently.
“Fair.”
Inside the community center, children played beneath colorful paper decorations.
A woman named Ruth Gable sat near the window.
She was Mrs. Gable's older sister.
Beside her stood a little girl in a yellow sweater.
Dark curls.
Brown eyes.
A small birthmark beneath her left ear.
Gabriel stopped breathing.
Lily looked up.
For a moment, their eyes met.
Something in his chest tightened.
She resembled Elena.
The shape of her mouth.
The curve of her eyebrows.
The way she tilted her head when she was curious.
Norah approached first.
“Hi, Lily.”
The girl's face brightened.
“Norah!”
She ran forward.
Norah hugged her carefully with her uninjured arm.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
Lily looked toward Gabriel.
“Who's that?”
Norah glanced at him.
“This is Gabriel.”
Lily studied him.
Then asked:
“Are you Norah's boyfriend?”
Norah nearly choked.
Gabriel blinked.
Then, for the first time in days, he laughed.
“No.”
Lily considered that.
“Okay.”
She returned to her drawing.
Gabriel sat nearby.
He didn't tell her he might be her father.
Didn't reach for her.
Didn't try to force a connection.
He simply watched her color.
Eventually, Lily looked up.
“Do you like horses?”
Gabriel smiled faintly.
“Yes.”
“Can you draw one?”
He hesitated.
“Not well.”
Lily handed him a crayon.
“Try.”
Gabriel drew something that looked more like a dog with long legs.
Lily stared.
Then burst into laughter.
“That's terrible!”
Norah laughed too.
Gabriel smiled.
“I warned you.”
For one beautiful moment, he forgot the investigation.
The money.
The betrayal.
He was simply a man sitting beside a little girl who wanted him to draw a horse.
Then Ruth approached.
Her expression was nervous.
“Mr. Rossi?”
Gabriel stood.
“Yes?”
“We need to speak.”
They moved to a private room.
Ruth explained that Lily had been placed with her after a family emergency.
The documents listed no known biological father.
She had always believed the placement was legitimate.
But recently, she'd discovered inconsistencies.
Gabriel listened.
Then asked:
“Did my brother arrange this?”
Ruth hesitated.
“He was involved.”
Gabriel's expression tightened.
“Adrian?”
She nodded.
“I didn't know who he really was.”
Norah watched quietly.
Ruth continued.
“Lily has been asking questions about her parents.”
Gabriel swallowed.
“What does she know?”
“She believes her mother died when she was born.”
“And her father?”
Ruth looked down.
“She thinks he didn't want her.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
The words hurt more than he expected.
He had wanted her.
He simply hadn't known she existed.
Then Ruth whispered:
“There's something else.”
Gabriel looked up.
“What?”
“Lily has been having nightmares.”
Norah's expression softened.
“What kind?”
Ruth looked frightened.
“She says she remembers a man coming to the house when she was very young.”
Gabriel frowned.
“What man?”
Ruth swallowed.
“She calls him the man with the silver ring.”
Gabriel went still.
Adrian wore a silver signet ring.
Always had.
May you like
Then Ruth continued.
“Lily says the man told her that if she ever asked about her real father, the people she loved would disappear.”
