Chapter 3 - The Shadow Motive
I stared at the screen in absolute horror, unable to comprehend the image in front of me.
Mark had abandoned me the moment I found out I was pregnant with triplets.
He claimed he was not ready for a family and disappeared from my life completely.
I looked at Damian, begging him to tell me this was some kind of elaborate mistake.
Damian shook his head slowly, his expression hardening into something dangerous and cold.
He explained that his security team had intercepted a wire transfer made to Mark the day my babies were born.
Someone had paid my ex-fiancé two million dollars to secure three healthy infants for a black-market adoption ring.
The hospital staff had been bribed to fake the death certificates and keep me sedated while they smuggled my children out.
A sickening wave of nausea washed over me as the puzzle pieces fell into place.
Damian's late sister had unknowingly purchased my stolen babies through a corrupt agency, believing it was a legitimate adoption.
Now that his sister was dead and Damian was looking for the biological mother, the people behind the ring were panicking.
Damian stepped dangerously close to me, his dark eyes burning with ruthless authority.
He swore on his life that nobody would ever touch me or those children again.
For the first time in fourteen months, I actually felt a tiny sliver of hope.
I asked him what we were supposed to do next.
Before Damian could answer, the heavy oak doors of the study burst open.
His head of security ran into the room, his face pale and covered in sweat.
The guard reported that the estate's perimeter had just been breached by two dozen heavily armed mercenaries.
Damian cursed under his breath and pulled a sleek black handgun from his desk drawer.
The sound of shattering glass and automatic gunfire suddenly echoed from the front hallway.
Damian grabbed my hand and dragged me toward a hidden door behind his massive bookshelf.
He told me we had to get to the nursery immediately to save the children.
We rushed up a secret spiral staircase just as a massive explosion shook the foundation of the house.
Smoke began filling the narrow corridor, choking my lungs and blinding my vision.
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When we finally burst into the nursery, the room was completely empty.
The cribs were overturned, the windows were smashed, and my three babies were gone.
