The Barefoot Girl at the Billionaire's Wheelchair Knew a Secret That Made Him Cry

The Man Who Inherited the Lies

Christian Vale's hands shook as he held the locket, but the child's warmth against his chest steadied him. He looked up at his bodyguards, then at the maid, and his voice turned to ice.

"Who sent you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "Who told you to bring her here?"

Marcus and Delaney exchanged a glance. Rosa's face went pale. But it was the child who answered, her voice small but certain.

"My uncle," she said. "He said you were dead to the world. He said I had to come alone, because if anyone knew I was Hannah's daughter, they would kill me."

Christian's blood ran cold. "Hannah's daughter," he repeated. "You're Sophie. My Sophie."

He had never seen his daughter. The avalanche had taken them both, or so he had been told. But now he looked at her golden curls, her hazel eyes, the small chin that was a perfect echo of Hannah's — and he knew the truth was far darker than any mountain.

"Your uncle," he said slowly. "Which uncle?"

Sophie pointed toward the back of the loge, where a tall man in a dark suit was slipping out through the velvet curtain. Christian's heart lurched. He knew that silhouette. It was his younger brother, Julian.

"Stop him!" Christian roared, but the man was already gone.

Marcus ran after him, but Christian knew it was too late. Julian had been the one who found him after the accident, who had signed the papers that gave him control of the Vale estate, who had visited him every month with a sad smile and a bottle of expensive whiskey.

"Your brother," Sophie said, her voice trembling. "He told me you were a monster. He said you killed my mommy and left me to die. But I didn't believe him. Mommy showed me your picture every night before she went to heaven."

Christian's eyes widened. "Hannah didn't die in the avalanche?"

Sophie shook her head. "She died last year. In a hospital. She told me to find you, but Uncle Julian said you were dangerous. He said you would take me away and lock me up."

Christian's hands curled into fists. "Julian," he hissed. "My brother. The man I trusted with everything."

He looked down at Sophie, and his voice softened. "I'm not dangerous, Sophie. I'm your father. And I'm going to find out exactly what your uncle did to your mommy — and to us."

He pressed the locket to his lips, then tucked it inside his jacket. "But first, we need to leave. If Julian is here, then the guards outside are his men. And they won't hesitate to hurt you."

Sophie clung to his neck. "I'm not scared," she whispered. "Mommy said you would protect me."

Christian's heart ached. "She was right," he said, and he looked at his bodyguards with a new fire in his eyes. "Get me out of this hall. Quietly. And then we're going to find my brother."