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<\/p>\n“The night four terrified little girls crawled beneath my table and begged me to pretend I was their father, I thought it was just another stranger\u2019s problem passing through my world. They had no idea the man they chose for protection was the same man feared by everyone in Chicago\u2019s criminal underworld.
\n<\/p>\n
The first little girl appeared beneath my table so quietly that I thought I had imagined her.<\/p>\n
Then a second pair of frightened eyes appeared beside hers.<\/p>\n
Then a third.<\/p>\n
Then a fourth.<\/p>\n
My hand stopped halfway to my teacup as I stared down at the four girls hiding beneath the small caf\u00e9 table. They wore matching navy coats, identical cream-colored ribbons, and expressions that revealed more than words ever could.<\/p>\n
One looked terrified.<\/p>\n
One looked angry.<\/p>\n
One looked like she was seconds away from crying.<\/p>\n
And the smallest one had both hands wrapped tightly around my pant leg.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n
Most people in Chicago knew my name. Alexander Hayes was not a man people approached without a reason. I was the head of a powerful criminal organization, a man who controlled businesses, territory, and information from behind closed doors.<\/p>\n
Fear was something I understood.<\/p>\n
But fear in a child\u2019s eyes was something different.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you girls lost?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Four heads shook at once.<\/p>\n
The smallest girl looked toward the entrance of the caf\u00e9 and held onto me tighter.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mom is over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I followed her gaze.<\/p>\n
Near the doorway stood a woman in a charcoal-gray suit speaking with two men. She looked composed, elegant, and powerful, but her eyes told a different story.<\/p>\n
She was searching.<\/p>\n
Searching for them.<\/p>\n
The woman had dark auburn hair pulled into a neat knot, and the two men beside her carried themselves like they were used to getting what they wanted.<\/p>\n
I looked back at the girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to go to your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer came from all four of them.<\/p>\n
I frowned slightly.<\/p>\n
Then the smallest girl whispered the words that made the entire caf\u00e9 disappear around me.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretend you\u2019re our father.\u201d<\/p>\n
For several seconds, I said nothing.<\/p>\n
I had spent years watching people lie, manipulate, and betray each other for power. I had built my empire by understanding human weakness.<\/p>\n
But these four children were not trying to gain anything.<\/p>\n
They were trying to escape something.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
One of the girls swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Mr. Mercer says we need one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we don\u2019t want him.\u201d<\/p>\n
My eyes moved toward the man near the entrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Mr. Mercer?\u201d<\/p>\n
The angriest-looking girl pointed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHim.\u201d<\/p>\n
My jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he do?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told Mommy she was difficult,\u201d one girl said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said nobody trusts women who cannot keep a husband,\u201d another whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said our family looks broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then the smallest girl looked up at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he said he could fix us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those words changed something.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he hurt you?\u201d<\/p>\n
The girls shook their heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he threaten you?\u201d<\/p>\n
A silence followed.<\/p>\n
Then one girl quietly said, \u201cHe told Mommy she would marry him eventually. He said we should get used to calling him Dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
My fingers tightened around the edge of the table.<\/p>\n
I knew threats.<\/p>\n
I knew intimidation.<\/p>\n
I knew exactly what kind of man used fear to control others.<\/p>\n
At home, my own son, Ethan, was the only person who saw the man behind my reputation. After losing his mother years earlier, he had been the reason I remembered there was still something worth protecting beyond power and money.<\/p>\n
Looking at those four girls, I saw the same fear I had once seen in my own child\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
Children did not understand influence or reputation.<\/p>\n
They understood who made them feel safe.<\/p>\n
And somehow, they had chosen me.<\/p>\n
I slowly set my teacup down.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four girls looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay what?\u201d the smallest one asked.<\/p>\n
I looked toward the man standing near their mother, then back at the children hiding beneath my table.<\/p>\n
For the first time in a long time, someone had asked me for something that had nothing to do with my empire.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cI\u2019ll be your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The smallest girl stared at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou promise?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked into her frightened eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
She crawled out from beneath the table first.<\/p>\n
The other three followed.<\/p>\n
Up close, I realized just how young they were.<\/p>\n
The oldest couldn’t have been more than nine.<\/p>\n
The youngest looked six.<\/p>\n
They were identical enough to be sisters, but different enough that I could already tell them apart.<\/p>\n
The oldest had dark eyes and a serious expression.<\/p>\n
The second had a small scar above her eyebrow.<\/p>\n
The third kept twisting the ribbon in her hair.<\/p>\n
And the youngest had freckles scattered across her nose.<\/p>\n
She looked at me as though I had just become the most important person in the world.<\/p>\n
Then she reached up.<\/p>\n
\u201cPick me up.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’re supposed to pretend you’re our dad.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced around the caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n
Every person was watching.<\/p>\n
I had spent twenty years making grown men afraid to look directly at me.<\/p>\n
Now four little girls were giving me instructions.<\/p>\n
I sighed.<\/p>\n
Then I picked up the smallest one.<\/p>\n
She immediately wrapped both arms around my neck.<\/p>\n
The other three moved closer.<\/p>\n
The oldest whispered,<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we need to go to Mommy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked toward the woman near the door.<\/p>\n
Her eyes had finally found us.<\/p>\n
She froze.<\/p>\n
For a moment, neither of us moved.<\/p>\n
Then her expression changed.<\/p>\n
Relief.<\/p>\n
Confusion.<\/p>\n
Fear.<\/p>\n
All at once.<\/p>\n
She hurried toward us.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four children immediately moved behind me.<\/p>\n
The woman’s face fell.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls, come here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The smallest tightened her arms around my neck.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman stopped.<\/p>\n
Her eyes met mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m sorry,\u201d she whispered. \u201cI don’t know what they’re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice was calm.<\/p>\n
She glanced at the men behind her.<\/p>\n
Neither looked pleased.<\/p>\n
The taller one stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Hayes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I recognized him.<\/p>\n
Daniel Mercer.<\/p>\n
A real-estate developer on paper.<\/p>\n
A political fundraiser in public.<\/p>\n
And a man whose name had surfaced in my intelligence reports more times than I cared to count.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn’t expect to see you here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither did I.\u201d<\/p>\n
His gaze moved toward the girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, girls. Your mother is leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
The oldest shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said we had to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at the woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou’re taking them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo they want to go?\u201d<\/p>\n
She swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat wasn’t my question.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer’s smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn’t concern you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stood.<\/p>\n
The smallest girl was still in my arms.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer stared.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it concerns me.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the men beside him shifted.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n\n” While I was unconscious after surgery, my husband was kissing his mistress dressed as a bride. 042<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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