Lily: Daddy, are we going to get into trouble?
Marcus: No, sweetheart. Never again. You are safe now.
Marcus buckled both girls into the back seat of his luxury sedan outside the country club, hand shaking as he turned the key in the ignition. He looked at them through the rearview mirror, his heart pounding in his chest.
Marcus: Lily, tell me everything. How did you get to Dallas from Austin?
Lily: I took thirty dollars from the shelter administrator's desk. We rode a bus all night. Maya cried the whole way because her stomach hurt.
Marcus: God, I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry I wasn't there.
Lily: Why didn't you look for us after your car accident, Daddy?
Marcus: After the crash five years ago, I was in a coma for eight months. When I woke up, Eleanor brought me fake death certificates for both you and Maya. She said the hospital burned down in a tragic accident.
Lily: She lied to you! She took all the money you gave her and bought a new house with her boyfriend!
Marcus: Where is Eleanor now?
Lily: She moved to Florida six months ago. She dropped us at the Austin children's home before she left because she said we were too expensive.
Marcus pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number on speakerphone, his knuckles white against the steering wheel.
Lawyer Jackson: Marcus? Why aren't you saying your vows right now? My phone is blowing up with calls from Victoria’s father!
Marcus: Jackson, I need you to cancel the prenup agreement with Victoria immediately. And fire up every investigator in your office.
Lawyer Jackson: What? Marcus, what happened at the venue?
Marcus: My ex-wife Eleanor committed massive fraud, child abandonment, and forged death certificates five years ago. My daughters are sitting in my back seat right now.
Lawyer Jackson: Good lord... are you serious, Marcus? Death certificates?
Marcus: She stole two million dollars from my trust account meant for their medical care and dumped them in a shelter. I want a arrest warrant issued for Eleanor by tonight!
Lawyer Jackson: On it. But Marcus... Victoria's father holds the mortgage on your tech company’s headquarters. If you broke off this wedding, he’s going to sue you for breach of contract.
Marcus: Let him sue. I'm going to protect my children first.
Lily: Daddy... is that lady in the white dress going to hurt us?
Marcus: Nobody is ever going to hurt you again, Lily. I promise you on my life.
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