Chapter 2 - The Dinner & The Custody Battle Begins
At precisely 6:58 PM, Sarah walked down the grand marble staircase leading into the formal dining room.
She had washed her hair and pulled it into a neat knot at the nape of her neck. She wore a simple dark green sweater dress—the nicest thing in her limited wardrobe—and walked hand-in-hand with Lily, who was wearing a bright yellow dress with matching socks.
The dining room was vast, centered around a polished mahogany table that could easily seat twenty people. But tonight, only three places were set at the head of the table.
Julian was already seated. He wore a crisp dark blue dress shirt, open at the collar, his dark hair combed back. Standing at the perimeter of the room were Dante and another armed guard.
As Sarah and Lily entered, Julian immediately stood up.
He didn't just stand; he stepped out from the head of the table, walked over to Sarah, and pulled out her chair personally. Then, he looked down at four-year-old Lily.
"Good evening, little one," Julian said, his harsh features softening into an expression that surprised even Dante.
Lily looked up at the towering man, her big eyes taking in his sharp jaw and dark eyes. "Are you the prince of the castle?"
A ghost of a smile touched Julian’s lips. "Something like that. And what is your name?"
"I'm Lily!" she declared, scrambling into the chair beside her mother. "My rabbit is named Barnaby, but he’s taking a nap upstairs because he was tired from the big car."
"Barnaby is welcome to join us for breakfast tomorrow," Julian said smoothly, stepping back to his seat at the head of the table.
Dante cleared his throat, adjusting his suit jacket, while Mrs. Gable entered carrying silver trays of roasted chicken, herb-crusted potatoes, and fresh vegetables.
As they ate, the atmosphere slowly shifted from tense formality to an easy, quiet rhythm. Lily chattered endlessly about her favorite cartoons, completely oblivious to the fact that the man listening so intently commanded three thousand men across the Midwest. Julian listened to every word, nodding at appropriate moments and offering small, quiet answers that kept the little girl delighted.
When Mrs. Gable cleared Lily’s plate and escorted her to the adjoining family room to watch a movie under the watchful eye of a female staff member, the air in the dining room turned serious.
Julian set his linen napkin down. "We need to discuss Friday."
Sarah leaned back, her hands clasping together over her lap. "My court date."
Julian snapped his fingers softly. Dante immediately stepped forward, placing a thick leather-bound folder on the table between them.
"Gary’s attorney is a man named Richard Vance," Julian said flatly. "Vance is corrupt. He specializes in fabricating character assassination evidence for wealthy men trying to strip custody from lower-income mothers."
Sarah’s fingers tightened until her knuckles turned white. "Gary doesn't even want Lily. He just wants to destroy me because I left him. He wants to make sure I suffer."
"He won't," Julian said calmly. "Vance was hired using money that didn't come from Gary’s bank account."
Sarah froze. "What?"
Julian opened the folder, sliding a sheet of financial records toward her. "Your ex-husband filed for bankruptcy six months ago. He couldn't afford a public defender, let alone a high-priced custody lawyer. The retainer for Vance was paid by an off-shore entity registered in the Cayman Islands."
Sarah stared at the numbers on the page. "Why would an offshore company pay for Gary’s lawyer?"
Julian’s eyes darkened into icy obsidian. "Because the company belongs to Thomas Vane."
"Who is Thomas Vane?"
"My primary competitor in Chicago," Julian answered quietly. "Vane runs the South Side syndicate. He’s been looking for a weak point in my organization for three years. When he discovered I bought the diner where you worked and brought you into my home, he realized you were leverage."
Sarah felt the room spin. "So Gary sold me out to a mob boss?"
"Gary sold Lily out," Julian corrected, his voice dropping an octave, ringing with lethal promise. "Vane promised Gary two hundred thousand dollars if he successfully wins custody of Lily. Once Gary has the girl, Vane intends to use her as a bargaining chip against me."
Sarah stood up so fast her chair scraped loudly against the marble floor. Panic flooded her veins like fire. "No! No! They are not taking my daughter! I will leave right now! I’ll take Lily and get on a bus to—"
"Sarah," Julian said, his voice cutting through her panic like a steel blade.
He stood up, stepped around the table, and grabbed her upper arms gently but firmly.
"Look at me," Julian commanded.
Sarah looked up, her breathing shallow, tears blooming in her hazel eyes.
"You are not running," Julian said, his eyes locking onto hers with absolute conviction. "If you run, Gary wins by default. If you stay here, under my roof, nobody takes your daughter. Not Gary. Not Vane. Not the state of Illinois."
"How can you stop them?" Sarah gasped, her voice breaking. "Gary has a clean record on paper! I'm broke! I work double shifts! On paper, I look like an unstable mother with no money!"
"On paper," Julian said softly, "you are about to have the most terrifying defense team in the United States."
He pulled a gold pen from his jacket and slid a document toward her. "This is Victoria Sterling’s retainer agreement. She is the top family law attorney in Chicago. She doesn't lose."
"I can't afford Victoria Sterling, Julian!" Sarah cried out. "She costs a thousand dollars an hour!"
"I paid her half a million this afternoon," Julian said simply.
Sarah shook her head, trying to step back, but Julian’s hands remained anchor-steady on her arms. "I can't accept charity from you! I don't want to be indebted to a mob boss!"
Julian’s mouth curved into a slow, dark smile. "It isn't charity, Sarah. It’s a employment benefit. You keep my son alive and sleeping through the night, and I protect your family. That is the contract."
Sarah searched his face, looking for the catch, the trap, the hidden cost. But all she found in Julian Moretti’s eyes was an unyielding, protective fury that matched her own.
"Why are you doing this?" she whispered. "You don't even know me."
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Julian reached up, his thumb gently catching a single tear before it could fall down her cheek. His touch was rough from calluses, yet shockingly tender.
"Because," Julian murmured, his dark gaze pinned to hers, "you looked at twenty armed men in a restaurant, walked past them, and told me I was hurting my son. A woman with that kind of courage doesn't lose her child to a parasite like Gary."
