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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIt couldn\u2019t just be coincidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat was your mother\u2019s name?\u201d he asked almost in a whisper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily lifted her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSarah\u2026 Sarah Milton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At that moment Adrian felt his knees weaken. He grabbed the iron gate to steady himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sarah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A name he hadn\u2019t spoken aloud for more than twenty years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His first love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The woman who vanished from his life after a painful argument, leaving behind only a short letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t look for me. It\u2019s better this way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He searched for her for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Sarah seemed to disappear without a trace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And now, standing before him, was a girl with her eyes\u2026 with the same birthmark\u2026 carrying her memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow old are you?\u201d Adrian asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeventeen\u2026 almost eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adrian felt the blood drain from his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seventeen years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exactly the same amount of time since the last night he had seen Sarah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you know who your father is?\u201d he asked carefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily shook her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo. Mom never talked about him. She only said he was a very important man\u2026 and that he should never find out about us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Something inside Adrian broke at that moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All those years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fortune, the companies, the luxury homes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And somewhere in the same city, his own daughter had grown up on the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hungry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While he was busy building an empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOpen the gate!\u201d Adrian suddenly shouted to the guards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The security men stared at him in surprise. He had never allowed strangers like this onto his property before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The heavy gates slowly opened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adrian stepped toward the girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere is your sister?\u201d he asked gently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily carefully untied the baby from her back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHere\u2026 her name is Emma.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The little girl moved slightly in her sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adrian looked at her tiny face \u2014 and for the first time in many years, his eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He took a deep breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou will never have to beg for food again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lily looked at him in confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adrian was silent for a moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he said the words that would change their lives forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n