Chapter 2 - THE MILLION-DOLLAR PROMISE|
Valentina recovered first.
She stepped onto the dance floor, raised her chin, and forced a laugh.
"Well, that was adorable. I suppose the little girl wins the prize for enthusiasm."
Several guests shifted uncomfortably.
Aleandro turned toward her.
"You offered her a million dollars."
"It was a joke."
"Then explain the joke to her mother."
Valentina's smile stiffened.
"Darling, surely you aren't suggesting that I pay a child for running around a ballroom."
"I am suggesting that you honor your word."
The room grew quiet again.
Valentina looked at the guests, searching for support. She had spent years learning to command an audience, and she knew how to make people laugh with her rather than at her. Tonight, however, the attention had shifted beyond her control.
She approached Sophia.
"Your daughter did beautifully. I'm sure you're very proud."
Sophia held Emma's hand.
"She danced because she loves music. Not because she wanted your money."
"How noble."
"You made the offer."
Valentina's expression sharpened.
"And I am permitted to withdraw a joke."
Aleandro stepped forward.
"No, you're not."
He took out his phone.
"Marcus, arrange for the transfer of one million dollars into a protected account for Emma Bell. It will be held until her mother and an independent attorney decide how it should be used."
A murmur spread through the ballroom.
Sophia immediately shook her head.
"I can't accept that."
"You don't have to decide tonight," Aleandro replied. "But your daughter earned the promise, and I will not allow anyone to turn her into a punchline."
Valentina's eyes flashed.
"You are embarrassing me in my own engagement party."
Aleandro looked at her.
"You embarrassed yourself."
The words landed harder than a shout.
Celeste placed a hand on her daughter's arm.
"Valentina, enough."
But Valentina pulled away.
"Why is everyone acting as though this child has performed a miracle?"
Celeste stared at her daughter.
"Because I recognize the dance."
Valentina went still.
"What?"
"I have seen those movements before."
Aleandro approached them.
"Where?"
Celeste glanced toward Sophia, then Emma.
"Three years ago, at St. Vincent's Medical Center. A man was brought in after an explosion at a warehouse. He had severe injuries and no identification. He was unconscious for almost two weeks."
Sophia's hand tightened around Emma's.
"Was his name Leo?"
"I don't know what name he used. But he wore a ring like yours, Aleandro. The same crest."
Aleandro looked at his signet ring.
"My brother was never found."
"I know."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Celeste lowered her eyes.
"Because your father came to the hospital and ordered the staff to report the patient as deceased. He said the man had no family and that further questions would endanger everyone involved."
Aleandro stepped toward her.
"My father died four years ago."
"His men still controlled the hospital's security contracts. I was frightened."
Sophia felt dizzy.
The man she had loved might have survived.
He might have been lying in a hospital bed while she searched shelters, morgues, and police stations for someone who could tell her why he had disappeared.
"Do you know where he went?" she whispered.
Celeste shook her head.
"The patient vanished before dawn three years ago. But before he left, a nurse heard him humming that song."
Emma tugged Sophia's sleeve.
"Mommy?"
Sophia knelt.
"Yes, baby?"
"That's Daddy's song."
Aleandro crouched beside them.
"Emma, do you remember what your father looked like?"
The little girl considered the question.
"He had a scar here."
She touched her own forearm.
"And he said that if I ever met a man with a gold ring, I should give him something."
She opened her rabbit's worn fabric pouch and removed a small brass key.
Aleandro stared at it.
He recognized the key immediately.
May you like
It opened the private safe in Nico's old bedroom.
And nobody had known it was missing.
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