Vincent tightened his grip on Willa, his heart pounding. “What are you talking about?”
Marco’s gaze flicked to Vincent. “You unknowingly helped create a secret offshore account. The child is tied to it, and the investor wants her back.”
Sloan’s face paled. “You can’t take her. She’s my daughter.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have a choice,” Marco replied, taking a step forward. “Step aside, both of you.”
Vincent’s mind raced. This couldn’t be happening. He had to protect Willa at all costs.
Vincent Confronts Marco
Vincent placed Willa gently in Sloan’s arms and stepped forward, standing between her and Marco. “Who is this investor? What do they want with my daughter?”
“You financed a covert biotech project,” Marco said, his eyes narrowing. “The baby’s DNA matches the genetic markers of a subject in that project. She is the result of an illegal genetic experiment.”
Vincent felt the blood drain from his face. “That’s impossible. I would never—”
“You signed off on the deal,” Marco interrupted. “You may not have known the full extent, but you were the key to their success.”
Sloan’s hand trembled as she held Willa closer. “Vincent, you have to stop him.”
Vincent’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion and fear. “I don’t believe this. This has to be some kind of mistake.”
Marco’s expression remained cold. “Believe what you want, but the facts are clear. The child belongs to the investor now.”
Suddenly, the sound of sirens grew louder, and the building’s lights began to flicker. Sloan’s eyes widened, and she reached for a hidden pistol in the kitchen drawer.
“Stay back,” she said, pointing the gun at Marco. “You’re not taking my daughter.”
Marco’s eyes darted to the window, where the flashing lights of police cars were visible. “This isn’t over,” he growled, stepping back toward the door.
Vincent’s heart pounded in his chest. “We need to get out of here,” he whispered to Sloan, but before he could move, the front door burst open again, and more men flooded into the penthouse.
Sloan Returns, Confrontation Unfolds
She burst through the revolving door, breath ragged, eyes flicking between Marco’s silhouette and the tiny bundle in Vincent’s arms.
“Vincent—” Sloan’s voice cracked, then steadied as she stepped forward, the heel of her shoe clicking against the marble.
“Who the hell are you?” Marco snarled, his hand hovering over the pistol at his waist.
Vincent’s grip tightened on Willa, his knuckles white, the baby’s soft whimper cutting through the tension.
“We’ve been here before,” Sloan said, her tone icy. “You think you’re hunting a secret, but you’ve been chasing a shadow you helped cast.”
She pulled a folded slip of paper from her coat, eyes scanning it quickly.
“These investors—Marlowe, Chen, and the rest—wanted a child engineered to match a prototype they’d been developing in a covert biotech lab.”
“You mean… the account I opened for them?” Vincent’s mind raced, the pieces snapping into a darker picture.
Sloan’s gaze locked onto his. “You funded a project that never left the lab. They needed a real subject to test their gene‑editing platform. They chose you because you were the perfect cover: a billionaire with nothing to lose.”
Marco’s expression shifted, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. “You knew?” he asked.
She shook her head, the paper trembling. “I found out when Sloan—my sister—got a call from a lab tech. They warned me the baby was being monitored, that the investors would kill anyone who tried to hide it.”
Vincent felt his world tilt. “Willa… she isn’t mine?”
Sloan pressed the paper into his hand. “Her DNA matches the prototype. You’re a patron, not a father. They’ll kill her to protect the secret.”
Marco lowered his weapon, a bitter grin forming. “Looks like you both are in deeper than you thought.”
Vincent stared at the paper, a ledger of transactions, coded entries, and a single line marked “Genesis – Completed.”
“We need to get this to the authorities,” Sloan whispered, urgency sharpening her voice.
Before he could answer, the building’s intercom crackled, a voice shouting, “Police! We have a 10‑10 on the 30th floor!”
