Chapter 1 - THE PETITION DELIVERED DURING HER ANSWER.
Daniel remained on one knee before six-year-old Lily while the ballroom waited for her answer.
“May I call you Dad?”
He opened his arms but did not pull her closer.
“You may call me anything that makes you feel safe. I will still be here tomorrow.”
Lily stepped into the embrace by choice. Emma covered her mouth as guests applauded through tears.
Then the double doors opened.
A court officer entered with a sealed envelope and asked for Emma by name. The emergency petition inside demanded that Lily be removed before the wedding ended.
Her biological father, Grant Holloway, had not visited in six years, but now claimed Daniel was manipulating a vulnerable child.
Emma’s joy vanished.
“He never paid support. He never called.”
The officer lowered his voice.
“Mr. Holloway says circumstances changed this morning.”
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Attached to the petition was a valuation of Lily’s inheritance.
The child owned the deciding vote in a hotel workers’ trust worth forty million dollars.
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