CHAPTER 2: THE KIDNAPPERS IN THE DARK

The ballroom exploded into chaos.

Guests screamed as darkness swallowed the room.

Someone knocked over a table.

Glass shattered across the marble floor.

The little girl jumped from the piano bench, her heart pounding.

Before she could move, a pair of rough hands grabbed her arm.

"There she is!"

A man's voice growled from the darkness.

The girl cried out.

But another hand seized her other arm.

Not the kidnapper.

Adrian Vale.

"Let her go!"

The billionaire's voice thundered through the ballroom.

The lights flickered briefly.

For a split second Adrian saw three masked men surrounding the child.

Then darkness returned.

One of the attackers lunged.

Adrian took the blow across his shoulder and crashed into a table.

The little girl screamed.

"Mr. Vale!"

The words shocked him.

She knew his name.

Security alarms suddenly activated.

Red emergency lights flooded the ballroom.

The kidnappers realized their chance was gone.

"Move!"

They disappeared into the panicked crowd and escaped through a service exit.

Breathing heavily, Adrian turned toward the little girl.

She was trembling.

Rainwater still dripped from her hair.

For a long moment neither spoke.

Then Adrian noticed the pendant again.

The broken silver heart.

His chest tightened.

"What is your name?"

The girl hesitated.

Then whispered,

"Lily."

The name struck him like lightning.

Because twenty years ago the woman he loved had once told him:

"If we ever have a daughter, I want to call her Lily."

Adrian could barely breathe.

"Where is your mother?"

Lily lowered her eyes.

"She's gone."

The words shattered him.

"She died three months ago."

The ballroom fell silent once more.

And for the first time in twenty years, Adrian Vale felt completely helpless.