CHAPTER 7: THE HUNT FOR LILY
CHAPTER 7: THE HUNT FOR LILY
The moment Victoria spoke, chaos erupted.
The judge spun toward his bodyguards.
"Move! Now!"
The men rushed toward their vehicles.
Victoria's security team did the same.
Everyone suddenly seemed desperate to reach Lily first.
I grabbed Victoria's arm.
"Where is my daughter?"
She looked directly into my eyes.
For the first time, I saw something beneath her icy exterior.
Fear.
Real fear.
"Ryan, if we don't get there first, Lily will disappear forever."
My blood ran cold.
"Who is coming?"
Victoria hesitated.
Then answered.
"Her biological parents."
The words hit me like a punch.
Part of me wanted to hate them.
Part of me couldn't.
After all, if what Victoria said was true, they had lost a child too.
A child they never knew survived.
But why would they take Lily and disappear?
Victoria's expression darkened.
"Because they don't trust anyone."
Minutes later, we raced down a winding highway in a convoy of SUVs.
Emily sat beside me.
Silent.
Terrified.
The twins were with a trusted neighbor.
For the first time in over a year, we were fighting together instead of against each other.
I glanced at her.
"I'm sorry."
Her eyes filled with tears.
But she simply nodded.
There would be time for apologies later.
If we survived.
An hour later, we arrived at a secluded lakeside cabin.
The place looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
The front door stood open.
Victoria immediately ran inside.
Then I heard her scream.
"Lily!"
I rushed in.
The cabin was empty.
Furniture overturned.
Broken glass everywhere.
Signs of a struggle.
On the floor sat a single stuffed rabbit.
Lily's favorite toy.
Emily picked it up with shaking hands.
"No..."
Victoria collapsed into a chair.
For the first time, the powerful woman looked completely defeated.
Then one of her guards entered.
"We found surveillance footage."
Everyone gathered around a laptop.
The video showed two people entering the cabin.
A man.
A woman.
Both blond.
Both in their thirties.
Both crying.
The woman reached Lily first.
The little girl stared at her.
Confused.
Then something incredible happened.
Lily touched the woman's face.
And smiled.
As though she somehow recognized her.
The woman broke down sobbing.
The man hugged them both.
Then they left.
No violence.
No kidnapping.
No force.
Just a family reunited.
The room fell silent.
Victoria slowly closed her eyes.
"They found her."
May you like
The war was over.
But our heartbreak had only begun.
