Chapter 1 - The Phantom on the Sideline
The field was full of laughter and sunlight when the kick changed everything.
A seven-year-old boy smashed the ball hard, and it flew through the warm air straight into a parked black BMW X5.
A loud crash of metal rang across the quiet roadside.
Every single child on the grass froze instantly.
Cold wind moved through the bright green grass as panic set in.
Fear hit the little boy's face all at once as he realized what he had done.
The heavy door of the luxury car opened slowly and deliberately.
Julian, a world-famous football superstar, stepped out in a perfectly tailored suit.
He looked tall, athletic, and calm in the way only truly powerful people can be.
The kids stared in absolute shock at the living legend standing before them.
Julian looked at the dented car door and then shifted his intense gaze to the boy.
He coldly asked the child if he had just hit his expensive car.
The little boy’s hands trembled violently by his sides.
He whispered a quiet and desperate apology.
The superstar walked closer, his dark eyes completely unreadable, and bent down to pick up the ball.
He stared at the worn leather surface and the faded writing in black marker.
He froze completely in place.
He whispered under his breath that this was simply not possible.
The boy took a nervous, shaky step forward.
He bravely told the tall man that it was his ball.
The superstar’s jaw tightened as he gripped the leather.
He demanded to know exactly where the boy had gotten it.
The child quietly answered that his mother had given it to him.
Silence tightened around the entire field.
The wind blew harder, bending the grass as the tension reached a breaking point.
Julian looked closely from the old football to the young child’s face.
He noticed the striking similarity in the boy's dark eyes and sharp cheekbones.
He lowered his voice and desperately asked for the mother’s name.
The boy looked up with honest, innocent eyes.
He explained that his mother told him if someone recognized the ball, he was his real father.
The heavy football slipped from Julian's hand and hit the dirt.
The surrounding children gasped loudly at the dramatic drop.
Julian could not move a single muscle.
He whispered into the wind that she had told him she lost the baby.
The boy frowned, looking deeply confused by the man's words.
He said his mother claimed Julian had chosen football over them instead.
The superstar staggered back a full step as if he had been punched in the chest.
His private driver rushed forward to check on his boss.
Julian held up one hand to stop the driver without ever looking away from the boy.
He desperately demanded to know the mother's name once again.
The boy swallowed hard and said her name was Elena.
All the color instantly drained from the superstar’s handsome face.
He breathlessly asked the boy if Elena was actually here right now.
The child slowly pointed his small finger toward the dusty roadside.
A rusty public bus was stopped near the crosswalk.
A beautiful woman stepped out holding a thick hospital file with Julian's surname printed boldly on the front.
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Before Julian could even call out her name, a massive black van violently swerved onto the curb.
Three masked men jumped out, grabbed Elena by her hair, and dragged her screaming into the dark vehicle.
