Chapter 2 - SHADOWS OF THE PAST
The master bedroom of the Cross estate had never seen warmth, but tonight, the massive stone fireplace roared with blazing wood. Dr. Harrison Vance, a private physician who had served the Cross family for two decades, stepped back from the bed where Lily lay asleep under three thick cashmere blankets. An IV drip was connected to her tiny arm, delivering fluids and nutrients to her severely dehydrated body.
Holden stood by the large bay window, his suit jacket discarded, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Phantom sat right beside the bed, his broad chin resting on the mattress, refusal to leave the girl’s side written in his posture.
“She’s severely malnourished, Holden,” Dr. Vance said quietly, wiping his glasses with a handkerchief. “She’s suffered from prolonged exposure to the cold, and her immune system is severely compromised. But she’s resilient. She’ll recover with rest, proper food, and care.”
Holden kept his gaze fixed on the quiet grounds outside. “And the test?”
Dr. Vance reached into his leather bag and pulled out a rapid DNA swab kit he had processed in the estate’s private lab down the hall. He handed the paper to Holden.
Holden opened it. The numbers were undeniable: 99.99% Probability of Paternity.
A heavy lump formed in Holden’s throat. He was a father. For seven years, while he was expanding his territory, fighting off rival syndicates, and surrounding himself with luxury and violence, his daughter had been living in poverty, shivering in duct-taped coats, eating scraps, and hiding in the shadows with Evelyn.
“How could Evelyn keep this from me?” Holden murmured, his knuckles turning white as he crumpled the paper.
“Because she was trying to keep the girl alive,” a raspy voice spoke from the doorway.
Holden turned sharply. Marcus stood there, looking pale and grim. In his hand, he held a secure tablet linked to the estate’s intelligence network.
“Report,” Holden commanded coldly.
“We sent a tactical team to the address on that note, Boss,” Marcus said softly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him. “It was a abandoned warehouse on 4th Street. It looks like... there was a struggle there roughly twelve hours ago.”
Holden’s eyes narrowed into slits of pure fury. “Where is Evelyn?”
Marcus swallowed hard. “We found blood, Boss. A lot of it. But no body. The local street cameras caught a black SUV with dark plates leaving the alley at 6:00 AM. We ran the partial numbers. It belongs to the Moretti crime family.”
The room went dead silent.
The Moretti family was the oldest, most ruthless Italian syndicate in the city. Their boss, Dominic Moretti, was an old-school tyrant who had been waging a quiet cold war against Holden for the past three years, desperate to reclaim the docks and shipping routes Holden had legally bought out from under him.
“Dominic,” Holden spat, the name tasting like ash on his tongue. “He took her.”
“It gets worse, Boss,” Marcus added reluctantly. “Dominic didn't just take her for leverage. Our informant inside the Moretti camp says Dominic discovered Evelyn’s true identity months ago. He knew she was the woman who left you. He’s been tracking her to find a weakness in your armor.”
Holden looked over at the bed. Lily let out a soft sigh in her sleep, burying her little face deeper into the pillow.
“She escaped,” Holden realized softly. “Evelyn hid her before they dragged her away, and Lily walked miles through the freezing cold to find me.”
“She’s a smart kid,” Marcus admitted. “She dodged two of Moretti’s scouts near the East District before she slipped under our gate.”
Holden walked over to the side of the bed. He reached out with a hand that had signed death warrants and gently smoothed a lock of soft hair away from Lily’s forehead. A cold, absolute clarity settled over his soul. The corporate businessman, the sophisticated mogul who fought with legal contracts and market manipulation, vanished. In his place stood the deadliest man in the underground.
“Marcus,” Holden said quietly.
“Yes, Boss?”
“Mobilize every enforcer we have. Call in Salvo, Diego, and Anton. Put the entire city under surveillance. Tell our contacts in the police department that if they step out of line tonight, I will burn their precincts down.”
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Marcus’s eyes widened. “Sir, an open war with the Morettis will draw the attention of the Federal Bureau. It could destroy everything you’ve built.”
Holden turned to look at Marcus, his amber eyes burning with an unholy flame. “I don't care about what I’ve built. They touched my family. Prepare the weapons. Tonight, the city learns why they used to call my father a monster.”
