A Barefoot Girl Asked The Billionaire To Pretend He Was Her Dad — Then He Discovered The Children He Never Knew Existed

The hunt led them to the old train yard near Pier 91. The heavy iron cars sat like sleeping monsters in the dark, the rain bouncing off their rusted roofs. Desmond’s tech team had tracked a cell phone ping from one of the dark-coated men who had been chasing Wren earlier that afternoon. The signal was coming from an abandoned control tower overlooking the tracks.

Marcus climbed the metal stairs of the tower, his boots silent against the iron grating. Desmond followed with his weapon drawn, his eyes scanning the shadows.

Inside the tower room, two men were huddled around a portable heater, drinking coffee from paper cups. When the door splintered inward under the force of Marcus’s boot, they scrambled for their waistbands.

They weren't fast enough.

Desmond fired two non-lethal rounds into the floor near their feet, the deafening cracks echoing in the small room. Marcus crossed the distance in a single bound, grabbing the first man by his collar and throwing him face-first onto the metal desk.

"Where is Milo?" Marcus demanded, his fingers digging into the man's jaw.

The man spat blood onto the desk, grinning through broken teeth. "We don't know where the brat is, Whitfield. He went into the drain pipes near the north ravine. If the water rose an hour ago, he’s already out in the bay."

Uncovering the LeakMarcus didn't waste time with threats. He reached into the man's coat, pulled out his encrypted satellite phone, and held it to the man's face to unlock it via biometric scan. He scrolled through the recent calls.

There was only one number dialed over the last three hours.

It wasn't Thomas Sterling's office.

It was Adrian Voss’s personal private line.

Marcus’s world seemed to tilt. The betrayal wasn't just corporate; it was intimate. Adrian hadn't just hidden the truth to protect the company; he was actively feeding information to Sterling’s recovery team to ensure Milo was never found alive.

"Desmond," Marcus said, his voice entirely devoid of warmth. "Keep these two here until the authorities arrive. I'm going to the north ravine."