CHAPTER 5 — The Lawyer's Cruel Demand
Daniel burst into Memorial Hospital just as the elevator doors opened.
At the end of the hallway stood a sharply dressed attorney flanked by two security guards.
Ava sat quietly in a wheelchair, clutching her backpack like it was the only thing she had left.
The lawyer smiled without warmth.
"Mr. Carter."
"I'm representing the Carter Family Trust."
Daniel stepped between the lawyer and his daughter.
"Get away from her."
The attorney calmly handed him a thick envelope.
"If Miss Ava Carter insists on claiming paternity, she will also inherit certain... liabilities."
Daniel frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
The lawyer pulled out a stack of documents.
"Your late mother, Emily Brooks, accumulated over $2.3 million in medical debt during sixteen years of treatment."
"If Ava legally becomes your daughter, creditors may pursue any inheritance connected to her."
Ava slowly stood.
"I don't want his money."
"I never came here for that."
"I just wanted to know if my dad was real."
The hallway fell silent.
Even the nurses stopped walking.
Daniel looked at his daughter—the child who had crossed the country with nothing but hope.
Then he ripped the documents in half.
"I don't care if the debt is two million..."
"...or two hundred million."
"She's my daughter."
"And from this moment on..."
"...every problem she has is mine."
The lawyer's smile disappeared.
"You may regret that decision."
Daniel stepped closer.
"No."
"The only thing I regret..."
"...is letting sixteen years pass before meeting my daughter."
The lawyer quietly left.
But before entering the elevator, he made one phone call.
"The first plan failed."
"Start Phase Two."
Daniel didn't hear those words.
May you like
Neither did Ava.
But someone far more dangerous had just entered the game.
