“Catch Me If You Can!” — The Maid’s Little Girl Challenged the Mafia Boss, and His Reaction Melted Everyone’s Hearts

Mia didn't understand why a photograph could make an adult cry.

She only knew that the picture tucked beneath her mattress made her mother look frightened.

Clare had been sitting on the edge of the bed when Mia showed it to her.

For several seconds, she hadn't moved.

Then she had taken the photograph, turned it facedown, and whispered, "Where did you get this?"

"Someone put it under the door."

"When?"

"After Bunny went to sleep."

Clare had pulled Mia into her arms so quickly that the little girl squeaked.

"Listen to me, sweetheart. If anyone gives you anything, you come straight to me. Understand?"

Mia nodded.

"Even if it's stickers?"

"Especially if it's stickers."

But Clare hadn't answered the question Mia cared about.

Who was the man in the photograph?

Now, standing outside Roman's study, Mia remembered her mother's expression.

She didn't know what Julian Cross had done. She didn't know why Roman's men were searching for him.

But she understood one thing.

Adults became frightened whenever someone mentioned her father.

That evening, Mia asked Clare about the photograph again.

They were in the child's bedroom. Rain tapped against the windows, and the crescent-moon lamp cast a soft glow across the floor.

Clare sat beside her.

"Sweetheart, there are things about your father that are difficult to explain."

"Did he leave because I was bad?"

Clare's face crumpled.

"No. Never. You were never the reason."

"Did he know about Bunny?"

Despite herself, Clare laughed through her tears.

"Yes. He knew about Bunny."

"Then why doesn't he come back?"

Clare held her daughter close.

"Because some people make choices that hurt the people who love them. And sometimes, those choices have consequences."

Mia thought about that.

"Did he hurt you?"

Clare closed her eyes.

"Yes."

It was the first honest answer she had given her daughter about the man.

Mia rested her head against her mother's shoulder.

"Then I don't want him to hurt you again."

Clare kissed her curls.

"Neither do I."

Across the mansion, Roman was reading the first report on Clare Bennett.

Her employment history checked out. Her former landlord confirmed that she had lived alone with Mia for nearly three years. Her bank records, obtained through lawful business inquiries into the suspicious shipment leak, showed no unexplained deposits.

But the photograph of Julian Cross remained troubling.

Gabriel entered with another file.

"Cross was involved in the port fund investigation," he said. "He disappeared after the internal audit began. The last confirmed person to meet with him was your former operations director, Vincent Hale."

Roman's jaw tightened.

Vincent had worked beside his father before Roman inherited control of the organization. He knew the family's finances, shipping routes, and private security procedures.

He also knew exactly how Roman's father had died.

"Where is Hale now?"

"At the waterfront offices. He says he hasn't seen Cross in six months."

"People say many things."

Gabriel placed another photograph on the desk.

This one showed Julian Cross outside a courthouse three years earlier.

Beside him stood a younger Clare, visibly pregnant.

Roman stared at the image.

"She was involved with him."

"Apparently."

"Did she know who he was?"

"She told the employment agency she was a widow. There was no mention of Cross."

Roman leaned back.

He felt an unfamiliar irritation—not because Clare had a past, but because someone might have placed her inside his house for a reason.

The possibility that Mia was being used to reach him made the matter worse.

He called for Henry.

"Have the east wing secured. No visitors without my approval. And tell the staff that any strange deliveries go directly to Gabriel."

Henry nodded.

Then he hesitated.

"Sir, Miss Mia has been asking questions about her father."

Roman looked up.

"Who told you?"

"No one. I overheard her speaking with her mother."

For a moment, Roman said nothing.

Then he asked Henry to bring Clare to his study the following morning.

At nine, Clare arrived alone.

Roman placed the photograph of Julian on the desk.

"Tell me what you know about this man."

Clare went pale.

"Where did you get that?"

"That isn't an answer."

She stared at the image, then looked directly at him.

"His name is Julian Cross. He is Mia's father."

Roman's expression remained unreadable.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I was hired to clean your house, not explain every painful decision I've ever made."

Gabriel shifted uncomfortably near the door.

Clare continued, her voice trembling but firm.

"Julian disappeared before Mia was born. He told me he had debts, that dangerous men were looking for him, and that I would be safer if I forgot he existed. I believed him. Later, I learned he'd lied about nearly everything."

"Did he send you here?"

"No."

"Did anyone pay you to get close to me?"

"Absolutely not."

Roman watched her carefully.

For the first time, he saw anger beneath her fear.

"You're welcome to investigate my life," Clare said. "But don't turn my daughter into a suspect because her father is a liar."

Roman glanced at the photograph.

Then he noticed something he hadn't seen before.

A small reflection in the glass behind Clare and Julian.

Someone else had been standing nearby.

Someone whose face had been deliberately scratched out.