Chapter 3 - The Dark Secrets Hiding Inside the Westchester Mansion
The Westchester estate was a labyrinth of stone hallways, hidden security vaults, and ghosts from a bloody past.
Every room smelled faintly of old leather, expensive bourbon, and the permanent chill of a brokenhearted man.
Adrian sat in his motorized wheelchair by the reinforced glass window, staring out at the frozen winter gardens.
In his lap, three-year-old Lily played quietly with a ragged stuffed rabbit that looked identical to Sophie’s old toy.
She didn't know the dark history of the rooms, nor did she understand why armed guards patrolled every outer perimeter door.
To her, Adrian was simply the quiet man with the sad eyes who let her draw pictures on legal pads.
“Can you be my daughter for one day?” she had asked him earlier with heartbreaking innocence.
The question had cracked open defenses that bullets, federal indictments, and betrayal could never manage to touch.
Adrian stroked her dark curls, feeling a strange, unfamiliar warmth spreading slowly through his chest.
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Yet, even as he held her close, his sharp instincts whispered that danger was already pacing right outside his door.
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