Yet here stood his daughter, her little hands filthy, collecting stale bread from the trash behind the very hotel where his mother was hosting a glittering, extravagant party.
“Annie, look at me and tell me the truth,” Victor said, his voice fighting not to break.
“Does your mother send you here to dig through the garbage for food?”
The girl shook her head quickly, her face pale with fear as she stepped back from him.
“No, Daddy, please don’t be mad at her,” she pleaded, her voice shaking.
“Mom doesn’t know I came here, but I saw the kitchen staff throwing away all this food and I thought I could bring it home to her because she never has enough to eat.”
Victor felt the words slam into his chest, knocking the breath from him in a ragged gasp.
“What do you mean she hardly eats, because I send her a fortune every single month?”
Annie frowned at him with the innocent, painful confusion of a child who had never known security.
“Money?” she asked softly.
