Chapter 7 - Shadows from the Past
Three days passed in absolute luxury.
Maya was thriving. She chased peacocks in the garden and played with Leo, who seemed to have adopted a completely new, calm personality.
I, however, couldn't relax. Every time the heavy wooden doors of the villa opened, I expected the Italian police, or worse, Richard, to walk through.
My paranoia proved justified on the fourth morning.
I was in the kitchen helping Maria bake biscotti when Marcus walked in, his face set like stone.
"Boss needs you in the study, Lily."
My heart plummeted. I wiped the flour from my hands and followed him.
Inside the study, Alexander was standing by the window. On his desk sat a laptop, open to a live video feed.
"Come here, Lily," Alexander said gently.
I walked around the desk and looked at the screen. My blood turned to ice.
It was Richard. He was sitting in a sterile, brightly lit room, looking frantic and angry. He was flanked by two men in cheap suits.
"He flew to Rome," Alexander explained quietly. "He used the remaining trust funds to hire private investigators and a sleazy international lawyer. They managed to track my convoy from the airport."
"He knows we're here?" I gasped, backing away from the desk.
"He does. He just filed an emergency injunction with the US Embassy, claiming I kidnapped you."
On the screen, Richard began shouting, though the audio was muted. I could read his lips. 'They are my kids. Give them back.'
"He's going to win," I whispered, tears spilling down my cheeks. "He's the legal guardian. The law is on his side. You can't stop the US government."
Alexander reached over and turned on the audio.
"...I demand you breach that compound!" Richard was screaming at someone off-camera. "That billionaire freak stole my nieces!"
Alexander pressed a button on his desk microphone.
"Hello, Richard," Alexander's voice echoed through the video feed, smooth and lethal.
Richard froze, staring into the camera. "Sterling. You arrogant son of a..."
"I suggest you watch your tone," Alexander interrupted. "Because right now, I am looking at a dossier provided by my private investigators. It contains bank statements showing you funneled two million dollars from the Vance trust into offshore gambling accounts."
Richard's face drained of color.
"It also contains medical records," Alexander continued relentlessly, "from three different clinics where Lily was treated for 'accidental falls' over the past year. Along with sworn affidavits from your neighbors regarding the screams they heard."
"Those are lies!" Richard stammered, sweating profusely.
"Perhaps. But it will take the courts years to figure that out. Years during which my lawyers will tie you up in so much litigation you won't be able to afford a cup of coffee, let alone a legal defense."
Alexander leaned closer to the microphone.
May you like
"You have two choices, Richard. You sign over total guardianship of Lily and Maya to me, today, and walk away. Or I hand this dossier to the FBI, and you spend the rest of your natural life in federal prison."
The silence in the study was absolute.
