Chapter 6
"Eastern Europe?" Daniel echoed, his voice barely a whisper. He looked at the tiny infant crying in his father’s arms, and then at Richard’s cold, unapologetic face. The realization hit him like a physical blow. "You weren't giving us a baby. You were using us as mules to walk him out the front doors without raising suspicion."
"Don't be dramatic, Daniel," Richard spat, realizing the deception was entirely blown. He tightened his grip on the baby, his arrogant demeanor refusing to crack. "It is a business transaction. An asset reallocation to ensure this family remains at the top."
"He is a human being!" Maya screamed, pointing a trembling finger at her father-in-law. "He is your own grandson! Who were you selling him to?"
"Read the file, Maya," Richard taunted with a dark, sinister chuckle. "I'm sure the good nurse will be more than happy to share my private financial details."
Brenda swallowed hard, looking at the top document. "The buyer is listed under a shell corporation, but the routing numbers trace back to the Sokolov Syndicate. A highly dangerous, black-market organization."
A collective gasp echoed in the room. Even the seasoned security guards looked deeply unsettled by the name. The Sokolovs were notorious for human trafficking and providing heirs to wealthy, barren oligarchs who wanted children with pristine American genetics.
"You monster," Jessica whispered, pressing a hand to her mouth. For all her smug arrogance and cruel entitlement, the reality of selling a newborn to a criminal syndicate was entirely beyond her moral threshold. "You told us it was a private family matter. You made us accomplices to human trafficking!"
"I made you relevant, Jessica!" Richard roared, finally losing his temper. "Thomas accrued a fifty-million-dollar gambling debt with the Sokolovs before he conveniently disappeared! They were going to dismantle our entire company and leave us bankrupt in the streets!"
Maya’s breath caught in her throat. The monitors beside her bed began to beep wildly. "Thomas? Thomas isn't away on business?"
"Thomas has been missing for three weeks, you naive fool," Richard sneered, his rosy skin flushed with fury. "He fled the country to save his own skin, leaving his pregnant wife behind. The Sokolovs demanded payment. I didn't have the liquidity. But they offered a trade. A pureblood Vance heir in exchange for the cancellation of the debt."
"So you decided to sell my baby to pay off your son's gambling debts," Maya said, her voice dropping into a terrifyingly cold, dead register. The tears in her eyes evaporated, replaced by a fierce, maternal wrath that made her look like an avenging angel.
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"It’s basic economics," Richard stated proudly. "You have three. You can spare one to save the empire."
"Put him down," the lead security guard barked, stepping forward and drawing his taser, pointing the red laser dot directly at Richard’s chest. "I will not ask you again. Put the baby in the bassinet, or I will drop you where you stand."
