Daddy!

Alysha’s heart stopped. She turned to Sisi, frozen in shock, the word ringing in her ears. It was only the second word Sisi had ever spoken to her, and it hit her with the force of a revelation she hadn’t been prepared for.

Sisi’s finger was pointed at a photograph in the article—a man with striking blond hair, intense blue eyes, and an impossibly handsome face. The caption read: Ivan Anderson Suegra, The business tycoon and CEO of Suegra Empire.

Sisi tugged at Alysha’s sleeve insistently, her blue eyes wide with recognition. “Daddy!” she repeated, her voice filled with a joy Alysha had never seen in her before. Her small hand tapped the newspaper, her gaze locked on the picture as if nothing else in the world mattered.

Alysha’s breath came in short, shallow gasps as she took in the image of Ivan. This man… Sisi’s father? She looked down at her daughter, who was gazing at the photo with the pure, innocent certainty of a child who recognized someone she loved.

She knelt down, eye-level