I Married My Ex's Billionaire Father-Chapter 334: The Little Girl With The Dandelion

Igor’s body tensed and he turned around quickly to see who was at the door.

Luca stepped in and shut the door behind him then looked first at Igor, hands full of cash in front of the open safe and the painting which had usually hung up there now on the ground.

Luca’s eyes darted around the room nervously then he grinned sheepishly.

"I guess you are busy. I will just let you continue." He said as he turned and started to limp away.

"Stop." Came Igor’s command.

Luca stiffened and gulped fearfully before turning around with a strained smile on his face.

They looked at each other for a tense long moment.

"Ms Honey is dead."

Luca almost crumbled at that those three words and almost sagged.

He had thought that the relationship between the two had been fine. The giant was very gentle with Honey and he could see the affection Honey held for him.

She had even treated him like he was her kid brother, what could have caused such a falling out.

He felt the sudden urge to use the toilet but he held himself and cleared his throat.

"I guess she must have really hurt your feelings for you to kill her, hmmm?" He said and when Igor’s eyes darkened, he added hastily.

"You don’t need to worry, I support you. These women can be so annoying."

"I did not kill her!" Igor roared and then broke down crying. "I failed to protect Ms Honey."

Luca stared at the mountain of a man that was crying before him with wide eyes.

He felt a strange sensation in his chest. He didn’t know if it was fear or pity.

He had never seen Igor cry before, he had always seemed to be an emotionless robot.

He took a tentative step forward and then put a reassuring hand on Igor’s shoulder.

"There there," He said awkwardly.

Igor looked at Luca’s small pale hand on his large shoulder and then looked up at him with tear streaked face and Luca quickly withdrew his hand like he had been electrocuted.

Igor laughed, a strange wheezing, snorting sound that made Luca flinch.

Luca was a small, wiry man with a face like a nervous rodent. He always seemed to be looking over his shoulder, which was probably a good survival trait in his line of work.

"I am going to disappear." Igor stated, "I am leaving the country."

Luca’s eyes widened.

"I can help." He heard himself offer.

Igor raised a brow.

"I know a guy who can get you a new identity, you know, passport, birth certificate everything." Luca continued, gaining confidence.

"And why would you help me?"

"Because..." Luca stammered, searching for a believable lie. "Because I respected her. And she treated me with kindness. I want to help you get away as a final service to her."

It was a lie, of course. Luca had always been terrified of Honey. He’d only ever worked for her because she paid well and the alternative was worse. But he saw an opportunity here. A man like Igor, flush with cash and on the run, needed help. Help cost money. And Luca, ever the opportunist, knew how to sell it.

Igor stared at him, his gaze unnervingly direct, as if he could see the lie spinning in Luca’s head. "How much?"

Luca named a figure that was audacious, even for him. A price that could set him up for life in a country with a weak extradition treaty and cheap rum.

Igor didn’t even blink. He turned back to the safe, scooped up a stack of dollars and a heavy bundle of Euros, and shoved them into a duffel bag he’d found on the floor. He turned back and tossed a thick wad of bills at Luca. It was more than Luca had asked for.

"You get me the documents. Tomorrow. At the marina. Dock nine. Midnight." Igor’s voice was flat, devoid of its earlier grief.

*

A knot of ice formed in Lyse’s stomach. Lily. The little girl with the dandelion.

After a few minutes the guards returned, their faces grim.

"We can’t find the little girl." They told Levi, their voices low.

"She’s not with the other children." One of them said

"Her mother said she was playing hide-and-seek with the others a little while ago." Another guard added

A sudden, chilling silence fell over the group, broken only by the mother’s renewed, desperate sobs.

Levi’s face went cold, all warmth gone, replaced by a terrifying, focused stillness. He turned to his head of security, his eyes like chips of flint.

"Ophelia wasn’t bluffing," he said, the words clipped and hard as steel. "She wasn’t after a person. She was after leverage."

His gaze swept back to Lyse, and in it, she saw a depth of fury and self-recrimination that made her take a step back. He blamed himself. Of course, he did.

"The car," he barked, turning away from her as if he couldn’t bear to look at what she’d become because of his failure. "The report. Any car near the shelter since five a.m."

The guard, who had been listening to an earpiece, looked up, his face pale. "Sir, we have it. A blue sedan. Reported stolen two nights ago from a neighborhood two miles from here. It’s gone now. Left less than five minutes ago."

"She was here," Lyse whispered, the realization hitting her like a physical blow. "She was right here."

Levi was already moving, striding back to her, grabbing her arm. "We’re leaving. Now."

"But Lily..." Lyse protested, her mind reeling.

"Leaving is the only way we get Lily back," Levi snarled, the raw fury in his voice making her flinch. "Ophelia doesn’t want to hurt the girl. She wants *you*. She thinks she can trade you for the girl. She wants me to make a choice."

He pulled her towards the gates, where the black cars were already forming a tight perimeter. Ken and Bella rushed to meet them, their faces etched with horror.

"Levi, you can’t," Ken pleaded, grabbing his arm. "This is what she wants."

"I know what she wants," Levi ripped his arm away, shoving Lyse into the backseat of the car. "And I’m going to give it to her."

He slammed the door, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the sudden quiet of the street. He got in the front seat, barking an order at the driver.

"Go."

The car lurched away from the curb, leaving the chaos of the shelter behind.