Chapter 5
Daniel didn't give Victoria a second glance. He immediately turned his back on her, dropping heavily to his knees on the polished marble floor. The sharp line of his tailored black trousers pressed against the cold stone as he brought his imposing, muscular frame down to his daughter's level.
"Lily," Daniel breathed, his dark eyes instantly softening, his lethal rage melting into pure, protective tenderness. "Daddy's here. I've got you, baby."
Lily collapsed forward into his open arms, wrapping her tiny arms securely around his neck. She buried her tear-stained face into the notch of his shoulder, right against the dark tattoos visible beneath his open collar. Her small body heaved with frantic, shuddering sobs. The silver tiara tumbled from her hair, clattering softly onto the marble floor, but neither of them cared.
"She... she said this wasn't my house anymore," Lily whimpered into his neck, her small voice muffled by his suit jacket. "She said you didn't want me!"
Daniel pulled her closer, his massive hand gently cupping the back of her golden curls. "She lied to you, Lily. This is your house. It will always be your house. Nobody is throwing you out. Ever."
As he held his weeping daughter, Daniel’s sharp, observant eyes flicked upward over her shoulder. He expected to see Victoria cowering in shame or attempting to apologize.
Instead, he saw something entirely unnatural.
Victoria was standing three feet away, completely ignoring the crying child, completely ignoring Daniel’s death threats. Her sharp blue eyes were glued, with an intense, obsessive paranoia, directly to the small pink floral handbag that Lily was still clutching tightly against Daniel's back.
Victoria’s chest was rising and falling in rapid, shallow gasps. Her fair skin had gone completely pale, her manicured fingers twitching at her sides. She wasn't looking at Daniel's face; she was staring at the gold clasp of the little purse as if it contained a live explosive.
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Daniel’s brow furrowed. His protective instincts, refined by years in the brutal corporate world, immediately signaled that something was deeply wrong. He felt the rigid shape of the purse pressed between his chest and Lily’s fragile body.
Victoria took a silent, frantic step forward, her eyes wide, her lower lip trembling. She reached a shaking hand out toward the handbag, her voice a desperate, unnatural whisper. "Daniel... give me the purse. Just give me the purse and we can talk."
