Chapter 5 - A Father’s Promise
David didn't wait to watch Eleanor collapse. He didn't care about their boardrooms, their stock options, or their millions. His only priority was the little girl clinging to his neck, her small heart still beating erratically against his chest.
Carrying Lily in one arm and holding the wooden bat in the other, David walked out through the front doors of the Hawthorne estate. The cool autumn rain blew softly against the veranda, but inside the heavy wool jacket, Lily was warm.
"Daddy?" Lily whispered into his ear as they walked down the stone stairs toward his battered pickup truck.
"I’m right here, sweetheart," David murmured, planting a soft kiss on top of her damp hair.
"Is Mommy’s dress ruined forever?"
David opened the truck door, gently setting Lily into the passenger seat and buckling her safety belt. He wiped away the streak of black marker on her cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Mommy’s dress can be washed, baby. And the parts that are torn? You and I are going to stitch them back together with gold thread. It’s going to be stronger than it was before. Just like us."
Lily looked down at the silver locket in her hands. She clicked it open. Clara’s smiling face beamed back at her from the miniature portrait. "Aunt Victoria said you were weak because you didn't have money like them."
David’s hands gripped the steering wheel as he climbed into the driver’s seat. "Being strong doesn't mean having money, Lily. It means standing up for the people you love, no matter how big the bullies think they are."
Before David could start the engine, a dark luxury sedan pulled up alongside his truck, blocking his exit down the long private driveway.
David’s jaw tightened. He reached for the bat again, but the driver’s window rolled down to reveal Marcus Sterling.
"Don't swing, David," Marcus called out, stepping out into the drizzle and hurrying over to the truck. "You need to hear this before you drive home."
May you like
David cracked his window open. "If this is about legal paperwork, Marcus, it can wait until tomorrow. My daughter needs a hot bath and her bed."
"It can't wait," Marcus said urgently, his voice dropping to a low, cautious whisper. "Eleanor isn't just going to lick her wounds and accept losing her shares. Ten minutes ago, while you were walking to your truck, I overheard her calling Judge Vance—her second cousin on the county bench. She’s filing an emergency petition for temporary custody tonight. She’s claiming you had a violent psychotic break and endangered Lily."
