Part 6
Daniel stood there, his coat unbuttoned, his tie completely gone, and his eyes fixed on Vanessa with a look of pure, unadulterated disgust. He looked like a man who had just marched out of a war zone, his jaw clenched so tightly the muscles in his cheek were ticking.
"Daniel!" Vanessa gasped, her voice instantly shifting into a high-pitched, breathless octave as she tried to force a joyful smile onto her face. "You're home early! Sweetheart, you didn't tell me—I thought you were still in Singapore for another four days!"
She took a step toward him, extending her arms as if to embrace him, but Daniel didn't move an inch. His expression remained entirely deadpan, a terrifying wall of stone that stopped her in her tracks two feet away from him.
"I asked you a question, Vanessa," Daniel said, his voice dangerously low, vibrating with a rage that made the glassware on the shelves hum. "Does a starving child in my house sound like my problem?"
Vanessa’s eyes flickered with a brief moment of panic before she recovered her high-society composure. She laughed nervously, waving her hand dismissively. "Oh, darling, don't be so dramatic. I was just telling the little girl that she shouldn't be playing in the kitchen. It's a safety hazard with the hot stoves, you know? I was just looking out for her. You know how clumsy staff children can be."
Daniel didn't answer her. Instead, he bypassed her entirely, ignoring her presence as if she were nothing but air. He walked over to where Sophia was cowering against the edge of the refrigerator, her tiny hands still gripping the empty plastic bowl.
He dropped to both knees on the hard, cold tile, bringing himself down to the little girl’s eye level. The multi-billionaire, a man who commanded boards of directors and shaped global markets, looked up at the three-year-old with absolute tenderness.
"Hey there, Sophia," Daniel said, his voice softening completely. "Do you remember me?"
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Sophia nodded slowly, her bottom lip trembling as she clutched her stuffed elephant tighter against her chest. "The elephant man," she whispered.
"That's right," Daniel smiled gently, though his eyes remained fiercely protective. "I'm the elephant man. Can I see your bowl?"
