Chapter 2: Paris Changes Everything
The moment the jet landed in Paris, Alexander made a call.
By the time they reached the terminal, French authorities were already waiting.
His fiancée, Victoria Laurent, never saw it coming.
She arrived at Alexander's Paris residence expecting champagne and wedding planning.
Instead, detectives were waiting at the front gate.
The investigation moved quickly.
Too quickly.
Because evidence continued appearing.
Text messages.
Medical records.
Bank transfers.
Private conversations.
Everything pointed in the same direction.
Victoria had been slowly drugging Sophie.
Not to kill her immediately.
To make her appear chronically ill.
To convince Alexander she needed specialized care.
And eventually gain legal influence over decisions concerning the child.
The scandal exploded across international news.
Victoria was arrested within forty-eight hours.
Meanwhile, Alexander remained at the hospital where doctors monitored Sophie.
The little girl recovered steadily.
And every morning she asked the same question.
"Where's Estelle?"
The answer was always the same.
"She's right here."
Estelle stayed because she couldn't abandon Sophie.
But as the days passed, she noticed something else.
Alexander was changing.
The cold billionaire disappeared.
The man beneath him emerged.
The father.
The human being.
The lonely widower who had spent years building companies while unknowingly drifting away from the most important person in his life.
One evening Sophie looked at both of them and smiled.
"You should stay forever."
Estelle laughed.
May you like
Alexander didn't.
Because secretly, he wanted exactly the same thing.
