The Mafia Boss’s Silent Daughter Wouldn't Speak — Until She Called A Poor Delivery Woman "Mommy"

"Silas!" Arthur’s voice boomed through the open greenhouse door, carrying over the roar of the rain.

Within seconds, heavy footsteps crunched on the gravel outside. Silas Croft, massive, broad-shouldered, and soaked to the bone, appeared in the doorway with a suppressed automatic pistol drawn in his right hand. He took in the scene in a single sweep: the delivery girl on the floor, the master of the house standing over her, and little Lily sobbing fiercely into the stranger's jacket.

"Boss," Silas breathed, lowering his weapon slightly out of sheer shock. "I checked the perimeter. The gate sensor tripped because of the fallen oak on the east wall, but—"

"Quiet," Arthur cut him off sharply. He looked down at Lily, who was refusing to let go of Khloe’s waist. Her little fingers were knotted into the orange fabric so tightly they were turning blue.

"Lily," Arthur said, dropping to one knee, lowering himself to their level for the first time. His face, usually carved from granite, softened with a desperate, agonizing vulnerability that he showed to no one on earth. "Lily, bug. Look at Papa."

Lily turned her head just enough to peek out from behind Khloe’s arm, glaring at Arthur with a fierce, tear-stained defiance that left him speechless. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her face harder into Khloe’s chest.

"She... she doesn't want you right now," Khloe whispered, her voice trembling as she looked at the fearsome crime lord kneeling before her. "She’s scared, sir. Look at the storm. And... I think she thinks..."

"I know what she thinks," Arthur interrupted, his jaw tight. He stood up slowly, towering over them once more. He looked at Silas. "Clear the east wing. Prepare the blue guest suite. And call Dr. Sterling. Tell him to be on standby."

"Boss, you're not seriously going to—" Silas started, his eyes darting suspiciously toward Khloe.

"Do it, Silas," Arthur ordered, leaving no room for argument.

He looked back down at Khloe. "You're not going anywhere, Miss Bennett. Not tonight."

"What?!" Khloe gasped, panic flaring in her chest. "Wait a minute! You can't just keep me here! I have an apartment! I have bills! I have to go back to the city!"

"You drove through a flash flood on a private lane in the middle of a Category 2 thunderstorm," Arthur replied coldly, turning toward the exit. "Your Honda Civic would hydroplane into a ditch before you reached the main highway. More importantly... my daughter has not spoken a single word in two years. Tonight, she spoke to you."

Arthur stopped at the threshold, turning his head back just enough for the porch light to catch the hard, dangerous glint in his dark eyes.

"You are staying until I find out why."