Chapter 6 - The Gate of Lake Forest
At 2:00 AM, a torrential autumn rain poured over the iron gates of the massive Vance Estate in Lake Forest.
Henry’s car screeched to a halt outside the gatehouse.
He stepped out into the pouring rain, ignoring his umbrella, and slammed his fists against the heavy iron bars.
"SOPHIE!" Henry screamed into the dark, rain soaking his hair and his designer clothes. "SOPHIE, LET ME IN!"
The security cameras on the stone pillars whirred, tracking his movements.
Two minutes later, the massive iron gates hummed and slowly swung open.
Henry ran up the winding stone driveway, coughing as the heavy rain beat down on him. He reached the grand marble porch of the estate.
The heavy front door opened.
Dante stood in the doorway, holding a high-powered tactical rifle, his face expressionless.
"She said you could come to the courtyard," Dante said flatly. "Try anything stupid, and I put a bullet through your knee."
Henry nodded frantically, stepping through the grand hallway into the enclosed glass courtyard at the center of the estate.
Sophie stood near the indoor koi pond, wearing a simple white silk gown, her hair tied back. She held a cup of warm tea, watching the rain strike the glass ceiling above.
"Sophie!" Henry shouted, stepping into the courtyard, rainwater dripping from his clothes onto the polished tile. "I know! I know about Leo!"
Sophie didn't turn around. She took a slow sip of her tea.
"You shouldn't have dug into my private files, Henry," she said quietly.
"He’s my son!" Henry cried out, taking a step toward her. "Sophie, he has my blood! He looks just like me! Why didn't you tell me he survived?!"
Sophie turned around slowly. Her gaze was as sharp as a diamond.
"He is my son, Henry," she corrected, her voice dead set. "He belongs to the Vance family. He bears the name of the man who saved his mother while you were ordering my execution."
"I was a monster!" Henry screamed, dropping to both knees on the wet tile, sliding forward until he was three feet from her. "I know I was a monster! I hate myself! I’ve hated myself every day for five years! But please... please let me see him! Just once! Let me hold my boy!"
Sophie looked down at the ruler of Chicago’s underworld—the man who once ruled with an iron fist—weeping at her feet like a child, begging for a glance at the son he had discarded.
A small shadow appeared at the glass doorway leading to the living room.
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Little Leo stood there in his pajamas, holding a stuffed velvet bear, rubbing his sleepy eyes.
"Mommy?" Leo whispered softly. "Who is the loud man crying in the rain?"
