Chapter 3
“Because he wanted to give you something.”
“Is he coming back?”
“I don’t know.”
She hugged the book to her chest.
“I think he should come back.”
The words frightened me.
Not because I didn’t want Lily to have a father, but because I knew how quickly children learned to love people who made them feel seen.
Vincent had already missed four years of her life.
He had no right to enter it carelessly.
If he wanted a place in her future, he would have to earn it.
Two days later, I agreed to meet him.
We chose a small café near Lincoln Park, far from his mansion, his offices, and the restaurants where people knew his name.
I arrived first with Lily.
Vincent entered ten minutes later.
He wore no tie, no overcoat, and no visible weapon.
His security detail remained outside.
When he saw Lily, he stopped at the doorway.
She waved.
“Hi, Vincent!”
He smiled.
It was a small, uncertain smile I had not seen in years.
“Hello, Lily.”
She pointed at the chair opposite her.
“You can sit here.”
He looked at me for permission.
I nodded once.
He sat.
For the first several minutes, Lily told him about her stuffed penguin, her favorite cartoon, and the fact that she could count to one hundred if she didn’t get distracted.
Vincent listened as though every word mattered.
When she mentioned that she wanted to learn how to ride a bicycle, he asked whether she had one.
“I have a pink one,” she said.
“But Mommy has to run beside me because I fall over.”
“Falling is part of learning.”
Lily narrowed her eyes.
“Did you fall when you were little?”
“Many times.”
“Did your mommy catch you?”
Vincent’s smile faded.
“My mother died when I was young.”
“Oh.”
Lily reached across the table and placed her hand over his.
“I’m sorry.”
He looked at her tiny fingers.
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
For a moment, I saw something that terrified me more than his anger ever had.
I saw how easily he could love her.
Not because she was his heir.
Not because she carried his name.
Not because she represented a chance to repair his reputation.
He loved her because she was a little girl who had asked whether his mother caught him when he fell.
And I knew, with painful certainty, that if I let him remain in her life, I would never be able to protect myself from caring what happened to him.
After lunch, Lily went to the counter with Emma, who had joined us to keep an eye on her.
Vincent and I were finally alone.
“Thank you,” he said.
“Don’t thank me yet.”
“I know.”
I gave him a warning look.
He almost smiled.
“I’m trying to learn when to stop saying that.”
I folded my hands.
“Tell me everything.”
So he did.
Five years earlier, Sofia’s brother Matteo had discovered that several senior members of Vincent’s organization were using legitimate businesses to launder money and finance violent operations without Vincent’s knowledge.
Vincent had built his empire through a mixture of legal businesses, illegal dealings, and alliances he believed he controlled.
Matteo had worked as a bookkeeper for one of the companies, and he had copied records showing that a trusted lieutenant, Dominic Vescari, was selling information to a rival organization.
When Matteo threatened to expose the operation, he was attacked.
Sofia went to Vincent because her brother had once worked for him and believed he could protect her.
Vincent agreed to help.
Then the threats expanded.
The people involved discovered that Vincent had a wife who was becoming internationally famous.
They believed Claire Bennett could be used to force him to surrender the records.
“They sent photographs of you leaving a film studio,” Vincent said.
“They knew where you lived.
They knew which hotel you stayed in during production.
One message said they would make me watch you disappear if I didn’t hand over the evidence.”
I felt sick.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought they might be monitoring your communications.
I thought if you believed our marriage was over, they would stop considering you a target.”
“So you decided to make the threat real.”
May you like
“Yes.”
“You could have hired protection.”
