- Defne!

A chill went down her spine. She recognized the voice, although she had not heard it in fourteen years. And she was sure that she would never hear.

As if in slow motion, Defne looked back and made eye contact with the man who was listed as the father on her birth certificate. But he never was a real father. A narcissistic peacock, for whom children have always been an annoying hindrance. Who escaped, leaving them alone to survive in a complex, unfriendly world! And now he has appeared. What for?

"So I didn't have a vision," Defne said quietly. - Then, near our house, it was you. And what do you want from me after so many years, Mr. Kadir?

The man came closer and looked into the baby pram. With an instinctive gesture, Defne turned it around so that he could not see Emine. He chuckled and asked:

- Will you show the granddaughter to her grandfather?

- Since you never considered me your daughter, it is strange to consider my child your granddaughter. Young children are not shown to strangers. They can curse them. - Defne answered coldly and asked demanding: - What do you want?

"I missed my children," Kadir spoke up with a false smile, but Defne immediately interrupted him:

"Do you think I'm a fool?" In vain, Mr. Kadir.

- Well, what are you saying! - he feigned indignation. - Consider you a fool? How can I? The girl from a poor area who married one of the richest men in Turkey is not a fool. Now I do not doubt that you are my daughter. Because only from me could you inherit this quality.

The blood drained from Defne's face. She was confused. Being like him is the worst thing that could be. Not! Not! Not!

- I'm not like you! - it seemed to her that she was screaming, but the words escaped from her lips hoarsely and dully. - Nothing like it! I don't care if it's yours or not, the blood that runs in my veins. With my thoughts, soul, heart, I am not your daughter! And don't you dare voice your dirty assumptions. You have no idea about our story with Omer!

At her hot outburst, Kadir just grinned and said:

- Blood is not water. Even if you deny it now.

"Then I hope that Madam Aisun cheated on you and I'm not your daughter," Defne defiantly told him.

- Even if this is so, then there is still Esra. And she's my daughter.

The words sounded ominous. It hurt in her chest and it became difficult for Defne to breathe. A recent dream flashed through her eyes like a series of pictures. Fear gripped the body. And then she saw Omer. With the puppy on a leash, he walked briskly towards his wife and daughter. Defne took a breath and the air rushed into her lungs. The tension eased. Omer is here. He won't let anything bad happen.

Omer approached his wife and looked inquiringly at her interlocutor. Middle-aged man. Black graying hair, brown eyes. Dressed expensively and smartly. Omer had never seen him before, but for some reason, he felt an instant dislike for him. Maybe because Defne looked at him like haunted and it frightened. The puppy didn't like the man either. It pulled at the leash on its neck and growled at him.

- My darling? - Omer turned to his wife. - Is everything okay?

"Yes," she replied, and Omer realized that everything was bad. His wife is frightened and agitated, although she tries to hide these emotions behind a mask of calmness.

He looked at the man and asked:

- Who are you and what do you want from my wife?

Kadir cursed inwardly. Where did this son-in-law come from? He left, didn't he? Heck! Stretching his lips in a smile, Kadir held out his hand and replied:

- I am Kadir Shishmaz, Defne's father. Nice to meet my son-in-law.

Omer did not shake hands. He looked at him with an impenetrable, icy expression on his face and was silent. Kadir dropped his hand and hurried to say goodbye:

- All the best! Defne, I was glad to see you.

She did not answer and silently waited for the man, listed on her birth certificate as a father, to leave. The puppy whined and buried its wet, cold nose at her feet. Defne mechanically stroked it and raised her eyes to her husband. Pain and confusion splashed in them. Omer took his wife by the hand and squeezed her fingers tightly, silently promising care and support.

- What did he want? - asked.

- He said he missed the children. But that's a lie! Mr. Kadir didn't care about us as we were small. For fourteen years he did not remember our existence, and then he suddenly flared up with paternal feelings!

"Maybe he really rethought everything and realized what he had deprived himself of," Omer suggested cautiously, but Defne shook her head desperately.

- Not! He is a soulless monster. I do not know why he appeared, but nothing good will come of it.

Omer hugged her and pressed her cheek to his chest.

- Calm down, - he asked. "I won't let anyone harm you. All the more so for this mister Kadir. Let's forget about this meeting, and let's not darken our day with anxiety. See what beauty all around. We are together. The baby is healthy. This is the main thing."

"You're right," Defne agreed.

But feelings did not obey reason. She drove away disturbing thoughts, but they stubbornly returned and reacted to the soul. She was also worried about her family. After all, this bastard can go to them.

Returning from the walk, Defne fed Emine and, leaving her with Omer, went to call Serdar.

"Father is back," she said without greeting.

- And came to you too? - exclaimed the brother.

- What do you mean, and to you? - asked Defne. - He was with you?

- He was. A week ago, - admitted Serdar.

- And you were silent ?! - she was indignant.

"I put him out the door and ordered him to stay away from our house," he explained and apologized in a guilty tone: "I'm sorry. We didn't want to disturb you. You are our nursing mother. You don't need negative emotions."

"They're not needed, but there's no escape from them," Defne sighed resignedly and asked: "What did he want?

- To see the children. He missed us, you see, "Serdar said ironically. - Showed up with a doll. Can you imagine? Can't count, or has no idea what fourteen-year-old girls are interested in?

"More likely the second," Defne said sarcastically. - Mr. Kadir knows how to count perfectly. What do we do?

"Ignore him," his brother answered firmly. - Ignore. He will spin here for a couple of weeks, understand that there is nothing to catch and disappear.

- Allah grant, - Defne whispered, but her heart was restless. Feelings squeezed the chest and made the heart contract painfully. The dream did not go out of her head in which her father took either Emine Diana or Esra. Two precious children that Defne loved more than life.

She went to the window and stopped, looking at the green lawn, the bushes of blooming roses, and the turquoise surface of the pool. Beauty, which she always felt keenly and admired, receiving great aesthetic pleasure, has now become invisible to the eyes and heart.

Omer quietly entered the room, went up to his wife, and hugged her from the back. She threw back her head and pressed it against his chest.

- Is Emine sleeping? - asked.

- Asleep. I put her in the crib.

They stood in silence for several minutes. Omer did not ask questions, and Defne again experienced painful feelings of childhood inferiority of the girl, whom her father did not like.

- I love you.

Quiet and firm. Omer felt and said exactly what it was vitally important for her to hear. His words spilled like a balm on the heart that had been opened by old wounds. It became easier. Defne sighed and said:

- I called Serdar. I told him about today's meeting. It turns out that Mr. Kadir has already gone to them. A week ago. But they didn't want to bother me. They were silent ...

"They love you very much," Omer said in a low, velvety voice. - And they understand. Serdar and Esra feel the same as you.

"Yes," Defne agreed, looking in front of her. - They are also abandoned children. Esra doesn't even know what it means to grow up with a father and mother. She doesn't remember them. Grandma, Serdar, and I are her only family.

- A wonderful family, - Omer spoke with sincerity, from which Defne had tears in her eyes. - You managed to give Esra love and care. She grew up a happy child. "He unconsciously smiled." - I remember our first meeting with her. Near the Passionis business center. She came to see where her sister was working so hard. I was sitting on a bench, and I was afraid that the girl was lost, and I spoke to her. She then told me one phrase, and I kindly envied her and her sister. She said, "When my sister comes home from work, we hug her and kiss her," and I thought, how happy they are.

Defne, imagining this moment, also smiled. There has always been an invisible thread of affection and friendship between Omer and Esra. It did not break even after the ill-fated wedding, when Omer, leaving his young wife, left for Marseille. Everyone was angry with him. Serdar, Nihan, grandmother, Iso. But not Esra. She protected him and firmly believed that he would return and make her sister happy. And she was right. Sweet Esra. Golden child. Their scoundrel father shouldn't be allowed to ruin her happy world. He can't!

***

Kadir Shishmaz, angry as hell, entered his luxurious hotel room. Throwing a brand linen jacket on the bed, he went to the bar and poured a generous portion of cognac into a glass. Having drunk in one gulp, he swore roughly aloud. He watched Defne for almost a week, trying to get her alone. And so, when, as it seemed, everything worked out, this idiot appeared, her rich husband. As a result, all plans were derailed. And time is running out. Two weeks have passed out of the allotted eight weeks, and he has not come to a step closer to his goal.

His cell phone rang in his pocket. Kadir jerked. A grimace of fear appeared on his face. He took out his phone and looked at the screen. A set of harmless numbers. Unfamiliar number. That's just an unfamiliar phone. Kadir himself knew perfectly well who was calling him now. Waving his finger across the screen, he raised his mobile to his ear and said in a voice hoarse with fear:

- I'm listening.

"No, no," came a drawn-out voice from the speaker. - You will not listen, but speak. Tell me how you will repay the debt. It will not dissolve on its own. It must be given. If you want to live.

Kadir's legs began to shake, but he tried to give confidence to his voice:

- Everything goes according to plan. You will receive your money in six weeks.

"Six weeks and not a day more," the voice on the phone sounded menacing. - You know, my guys are still sadists. With imagination. They will arrange a long and painful death for you. If you try to deceive me.

- What deception? - Kadir feigned indignation. - Am I my enemy? You will have the money in six weeks.

"I see," the voice hissed, and the phone screen went blank.

Kadir grabbed his head and ran around the room, repeating in horror:

- Six weeks! Six weeks! Six weeks!

There was no more time left. On Monday, he must meet with Defne and put her before a choice: a million dollars, or he, as a legitimate father, takes Esra and takes her away from Istanbul. He didn't need the girl really. But Defne is foolishly compassionate, and his very rich middle daughter will never allow the unlucky father to take their little Esra. And she will find the money. He will repay the debt, and with the rest will leave for Cyprus. There are a lot of legal casinos and rich single ladies whom he can charm, pluck more money, and live happily ever after. He was tired of Turkey with its puritanical laws, underground gambling clubs, and a strict ban on gambling. It's time to get out of here. To the longed-for, paradise Cyprus!

***

On Monday, the Iplikci family went to work early. Both had a busy day ahead of them with work and meetings. Baby Emine Diana, fastened in an infant car seat, jerked her legs in white socks and enthusiastically stared with her olive-eyes. For a couple of days already, her gaze did not float in an unknown place, but quite consciously concentrated on the surrounding objects and faces. And now she was looking intently at the Mercedes salon covered with cream leather. The oblique rays of the morning sun penetrated through the windows into the car and jumped along the walls and ceiling in cheerful bunnies. Omer straightened his daughter's pink dress and smiled:

- Emine, you will get used to cars and offices from birth.

"And temporary nannies with no education or work experience," Defne grumbled. - I'm a terrible mom. I leave the child with whomever I find free. No employee in Sapphire and Passionis has not been babysitting Emine last two weeks.

"They don't complain at all," Omer objected. "And Emine too," he smiled affectionately at his daughter. - She likes her busy life and many nannies. So, do not worry. You are a wonderful mother. The most caring, gentle, and loving.

Defne answered him with a grateful smile. Omer was always on her side and protected even from herself. His care, tenderness, and love were unconditional and endless. They gave her wings and a sense of flight. Fate led her through trials, but then gave her the best husband in the world.

The Mercedes stopped near the building of the business center. Sukru opened Defne's door. Omer got out himself and took his daughter out of the infant car seat. Holding her close to him, he waited for his wife, and together they went inside the building.

Kadir watched them through the cafe window. An elegantly dressed couple with a small child in their arms crossed the small square and disappeared inside the building. The man frowned. He secretly hoped that his son-in-law would come alone, and he would go to Defne's home, put pressure on her, and deliver an ultimatum. But since she came to the office, then he needs to get there and demand an audience in private.

Kadir watched the entrance to the business center closely. A black-haired boy of about seventeen came to the door. But, he was in no hurry to go inside. He stopped at the doorstep and looked at the taxi stand. A yellow car with black checkers on its side drove up to it. Esra fluttered out of it, dressed in a bright dress, and hurried to the guy. They exchanged smiles and a couple of phrases, and then the two went inside the building. Kadir saw through the wide glass of the door as Esra and the guy took out their electronic passes and went through the security checkpoint. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. A permanent pass meant that the girl worked here. At fourteen! Yes, the diligence of his daughters came from not clear who. Most likely, from his mother-in-law Turkan. Since neither he nor his ex-wife liked to work. But they have always loved to live beautifully. And his beautiful life now directly depended on the girl Defne. Kadir had no remorse. And not only because he had no idea what it was. But also because he sincerely considered Defne to be his debtor. He fed her for thirteen years. Now let her repay the debts with interest.

Several hours of observing the entrance to the business center yielded results. Kadir noticed that the security service allowed couriers to pass without a pass and unnecessary questions. He went out into the street and began to stroll near the parking lot. When another courier, a young guy, left his motorcycle and headed for the building, he stopped him and spoke:

- Do you want to earn a thousand lire in a couple of minutes?

He looked sullenly and asked incredulously:

- And what is needed for this?

- Give me your cap, badge, and parcels. I will deliver them to their destination for you. And you will get a thousand, "Kadir said quickly.

- Are you crazy? - the guy asked cautiously. - Or planning something bad? Then get out of here, or I'll call the police.

The police were not needed at all. But Kadir was not going to give up either. He meekly smiled at the guy and, raising his hands, spoke conciliatory:

- What are you saying? Look at me! Do I look like a criminal? He gestured to his dandy clothes. - I just don't have a pass, but I want to surprise my daughters. They work here. At the Sapphire company. I'll take your packages to the address, and then go up to them.

The courier examined the man carefully. He looked respectable and harmless. And the promised thousand was a powerful temptation. The guy made up his mind. He unfastened his badge, took off the courier cap, and, along with the package, handed them to him.

- Company Gunaydin, twelfth floor.

The thousand lire were in his palm. Kadir pulled his cap down over his eyes, buckled on his badge, and headed inside the building.

Defne and Laura interviewed six candidates for the position of designers. Ahtem could not attend. Work on the jewels for the Baisal retail chain was in full swing, and he could not leave the workshop even for an hour.

The chief designer and creative director reviewed the submitted drawings, talked to the candidates, and, thanking them, promised to announce their decision in the evening. Although they both knew who they would hire. When the door closed behind the last contender, Defne looked at her friend and said:

- The guy, the green-eyed girl, and the smiling plump one?

- Exactly! Very talented young people! The drawing technique is impeccable, - Laura agreed with her. - So! We have a design department. Only eight months of work, and we reached good economic indicators and fully staffed the company with our departments. Sapphire no longer hangs around Passionis's neck. Only the system administrator remained common to the two firms.

Defne smiled and replied:

- No problem. Mert can handle it. He works like a man possessed.

"Banu calls him an Energizer," Laura said cheerfully.

- How is she? Defne asked briskly. "Does she like Omer's lessons?"

- Still would! She is delighted! And from the lessons, and Omer. And from Passionis with Sapphire. And from Esra and Mert. She says that she now has the life she dreamed of. I invited her to stay with us and go to Esra's school, but she refused. She doesn't want to leave her grandmother for a long time. She says that she became a consolation for her and the meaning of life.

- What a clever girl, - sincerely praised the girl Defne. - She has a kind, devoted heart.

"Yes, golden girl," Laura agreed with her. - I look at her and do not understand how a father could give up such a daughter? He's just an insensitive monster!

Defne turned pale and replied in a strangled voice:

"Shouldn't you and I know how often fathers turn out to be insensitive monsters?

- You're right, - Laura sighed, and then smiled happily and triumphantly declared: - But our children will have the best dads in the world!

- Oh yeah! Defne's smile mirrored the countess's smile. - Our children have the best fathers in the world! And now daddy Omer is trying to work with his daughter in his arms.

- Is Emine Diana in Passionis?

- Yes, and it is time for her to eat. So, soon she will throw a tantrum for her daddy, - Defne rolled her eyes in mock horror. "It's the end of the world for him. He panics when Emine cries."

"Then don't waste your time. Run to Passionis!"