Chapter 5 - The Reunion in the Rain
“No,” Daniel choked out, his voice cracking. “No, Sarah... nobody is taking Sofie away.”
Sarah backed further into the tiny apartment, her eyes wide with terror. The room behind her was small—a single mattress on the floor covered in mismatched blankets, a small folding table with two plastic chairs, and a hot plate sitting on a tiny counter. It was spotlessly clean, but painfully bare.
“Please, Daniel,” Sarah begged, tears immediately overflowing her lashes and spilling down her hollow cheeks. “Please don't do this. I didn't break the agreement! I haven't called you! I haven't come near your office! I let your mother have everything—she took the car, she took my savings, she told me if I ever tried to contact you, she’d have me arrested for grand larceny! I just wanted to raise our daughter in peace!”
Daniel couldn't bear it anymore.
He set Sofie down gently on the floor. The little girl immediately ran to her mother, wrapping her arms around Sarah’s legs.
Daniel took two steps forward and dropped to both knees on the linoleum floor at Sarah’s feet.
Sarah gasped, taking a step back in shock. “Daniel... what are you doing?”
The powerful billionaire, the man whose name graced skyscraper towers across the city, bowed his head until his forehead nearly touched her worn slippers.
“I’m sorry,” Daniel sobbed openly, his broad shoulders shaking with heavy, guttural weeping. “I’m so sorry, Sarah. I was a fool. I was blind. I believed my mother’s lies. I thought you abandoned us. I thought you took two million dollars from the trust and left Sofie with a nanny in California.”
Sarah stared down at him, her mouth opening in sheer disbelief. “What? Two million dollars? Daniel... I didn't take a dime! Your mother came to the hospital when I was recovering from appendicitis two years ago. She showed me papers saying you had filed for divorce and taken full custody of Sofie. She said if I didn't sign the waiver and leave the city, she would use your legal team to ensure I never saw Sofie again!”
Daniel lifted his head, his face wet with tears, his dark eyes filled with rage and agony.
“She forged my signature,” Daniel whispered. “She forged everything. Sarah... Sofie came to my wedding today.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “She... she did what?”
“She crashed the ceremony,” Daniel said, a faint, proud smile breaking through his tears as he looked over at their daughter. “She stood up in front of two hundred people in the St. Jude Ballroom and told me that her mother was scrubbing floors on 47th Street while my bride was wearing diamonds. She played the recording of my mother threatening you.”
Sarah covered her mouth with both hands, letting out a choked sob. She looked down at Sofie, who was looking up at her with a sweet, triumphant grin.
“You went to the big house, Sofie?” Sarah whispered, dropping to her knees beside her daughter.
“I rode the bus, Mommy,” Sofie said proudly. “Snow the cat helped me find the door. And I told Daddy that the white dress lady was mean.”
Daniel reached out, his hand trembling as he gently touched Sarah’s arm. The familiar, soft touch sent a shiver through them both, waking memories of five years of deep, unconditional love that had been ripped apart by malice.
“Sarah,” Daniel said softly, looking deep into her eyes. “Pack whatever you and Sofie need for the night. You are coming home with me.”
Sarah looked around the tiny, dilapidated apartment, then back at Daniel’s tear-stained, earnest face.
May you like
“Daniel... your mother... the media... Elena’s family...”
“They are nothing,” Daniel declared firmly, standing up and taking both of her hands in his. “I am going to fix this, Sarah. I am going to tear down every lie they built, and I am going to protect you and Sofie for the rest of my life. Please... let me take you home.”
