Chapter 1 - The Impossible File
The rain soaked through my thin uniform as I stood completely frozen in the alleyway.
Damian Marchetti did not even flinch as the cold downpour ruined his expensive tailored suit.
He just stared at me while his massive bodyguard handed him a glowing smartphone.
The screen illuminated the dark alley, casting harsh shadows across Damian's sharp jawline.
He looked at the digital document for a long time before his dark eyes locked onto mine.
I could barely breathe as the little girl in his arms reached out and touched my wet cheek again.
Her tiny fingers felt like a ghost, waking up parts of my soul I had buried fourteen months ago.
Damian handed the phone toward me without saying a single word.
My trembling hands took the device, and my eyes immediately recognized the logo of the hospital where I delivered my babies.
It was my medical file, but the words printed on the screen made my stomach drop into a bottomless pit.
The official document stated that I had delivered three healthy babies and voluntarily surrendered them to state custody.
My signature was perfectly forged at the bottom of the electronic release form.
I shook my head frantically, stepping back as tears mixed with the freezing rain on my face.
I told him I never signed anything and that the doctors told me my babies had not survived the emergency surgery.
Damian stepped closer, his imposing frame shielding me from the harsh wind.
He told me his sister had legally adopted these triplets through a private agency twelve months ago.
His voice was terrifyingly calm as he explained that his sister died in a car crash last week, leaving the children to him.
He gently shifted the little girl in his arms to keep her warm against his chest.
Then he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a folded piece of heavy paper.
He told me his security team had spent the last week tracking down the biological mother to ensure the children were safe.
He unfolded the paper and held it up to the dim alley light.
It was an original birth certificate listing the names Leo, Max, and Lily.
Right beneath their names, printed in bold black ink, was the name of their biological mother.
Emily Carter.
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Before I could even process the reality that my babies were alive, a deafening gunshot shattered the quiet alleyway.
Damian violently shoved me to the pavement as the brick wall behind my head exploded into dust.
