Chapter 6 - The Hidden Scar
I slowly stood up, my heart hammering violently against my ribs.
I walked over to the small cot and gently brushed Amara's dark curls away from her neck.
The surgical scar was faint, but unmistakable to a father who had memorized every detail of his child.
I turned around and looked at Grace, who was now weeping silently by the steel door.
"Tell me the truth right now," I demanded, my voice shaking with raw emotion.
Grace fell to her knees and covered her face with her hands.
"Seraphina ordered me to take Elara to the docks and hand her over to the traffickers," Grace sobbed.
She explained that she simply could not hand an innocent child over to such monsters.
Grace had taken all of her life savings to hire an underground surgeon.
She had the birthmark permanently removed and dyed the child's bright blonde hair to dark brown.
"I forged adoption papers, named her Amara, and raised her as my own to keep her completely hidden from your wife," Grace cried.
I fell to my knees right beside her, completely overwhelmed by the magnitude of her sacrifice.
This maid had risked torture and death to protect my flesh and blood.
I pulled Grace into a fierce hug, tears finally spilling from my eyes for the first time in years.
"You saved my world, Grace," I whispered into her shoulder.
Amara stirred and sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
"Daddy?" she mumbled, looking directly at me with a soft, confused expression.
It was the first time she had ever called me that, and my heart soared.
But our beautiful moment was violently interrupted by a massive crash from the ceiling above.
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The bunker's structural integrity alarm began blaring in bright red flashing lights.
Ivan and Seraphina had tracked our vehicles, and they were currently using heavy explosives to blow through the bunker's roof.
