Obsession had just begun

***Flashback*****

"Mark! Mark! Liora is still crying. Could you please hold her and soothe her?...... Sometimes, I feel like she loves you more than me," Amara shouted in exasperation. For fifteen minutes, she had been trying to feed her and lull her, but neither was she drinking or stopping crying. Her face showed a touch of annoyance, not on Liora but on Mark.

Mark, who was busy in the kitchen, immediately turned off the stove and rushed to the bedroom, looking at his beautiful wife and daughter.

"Don't you know the famous saying, my dear? Daughters are their fathers' princesses! Don't be jealous," he teased, scooping their two-month-old Liora into his arms.

As soon as Liora felt her father's warmth, she gripped his index finger tightly and stopped crying.

"See! Look at this! How can my daughter be so partial?" Amara huffed, folding her arms. "I carried her for nine long months, and yet you get to enjoy the rewards." She pouted dramatically, making Mark laugh heartily.

"Liora, you little troublemaker, are you teasing your mother?" Mark grinned as their baby girl responded with a small, toothless smile, still clutching his hand.

"I have a proposition," Mark said playfully. "Why don't you go and take care of my shop while I stay home with Liora? What do you say, my wife?"

Amara narrowed her eyes at him. "As if the time you already spend with her isn't enough! Now you want to take my share too, Mr Valentine?" She huffed. "Besides, have you noticed she only cries non-stop when you are home? The moment you leave, she's peaceful in my arms. You, my dear husband, are the culprit here."

Mark burst into laughter. He loved these lighthearted moments with Amara, feeling like the happiest man alive with his beautiful wife and daughter.

Before their playful banter could continue, the doorbell rang. Holding Liora securely in his arms, Mark walked over and opened the door.

Standing there was Chairman George, dressed in a crisp dark grey suit with a matching tie. Beside him, his assistant Robert carried an assortment of elegantly wrapped gifts.

"Chairman?" Mark asked, surprised. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit to our humble home?"

George's sharp eyes drifted to baby Liora before returning to Mark with a rare softness. "Mr Valentine, I came to personally congratulate you and Amara on the newest addition to your family. Congratulations!"

Mark stood frozen at the doorway, staring in surprise at Chairman George. It had been years since they last met—on his wedding day. Back then, the Chairman had come to congratulate them, and now, this was only their second meeting.

Amara, stepping out of the bedroom, frowned when she saw Mark standing like a guard by the door while their guest remained outside. Shaking her head, she quickly stepped forward.

"Welcome, Chairman. Please, come inside," she said warmly, snapping Mark out of his daze. He immediately moved aside, allowing Chairman George and his assistant, Robert, to enter.

Amara gestured toward the soft, dark grey couch. "Please, have a seat."

Robert, still holding the neatly wrapped gift boxes, turned to her. "Amara, where should I place these gifts for your daughter?"

"Please, give them to me," Amara replied, extending her hands. She took the boxes and carried them into Liora's room, carefully placing them on the floor for now. Then, she headed to the kitchen to prepare coffee.

Meanwhile, Mark sat across from the Chairman, still cradling Liora in his arms. The baby girl clung tightly to his finger, her tiny hand wrapped securely around it.

Chairman George's sharp gaze settled on Liora. He observed her silently for a moment before speaking.

"She has a teardrop beauty mark." His voice pulled Mark's attention back to him.

"Ah! Yes, she does. It's beautiful," Mark said, glancing at his daughter with fondness.

"Just like Eve."

Mark's head snapped up, a faint frown appearing on his face. "I suppose so. I never met my mother-in-law, but Amara did mention her mother had the same teardrop—"

"May I?"

Before Mark could finish his sentence, the Chairman extended his arms, asking to hold Liora.

Mark hesitated. There was something unsettling about the request, something he couldn't quite place. But since Amara thought highly of Chairman George, he had no real reason to refuse. Reluctantly, he stood and carefully handed Liora over.

The moment Liora left his arms, she refused to let go of his finger.

The Chairman gently uncurled her tiny hand, smiling as he did.

Mark didn't know why, but the entire situation made him uneasy. A strange feeling gnawed at his chest. Instinctively, he remained standing close, ready to take Liora back at the first sign of distress.

It didn't take long.

Liora started crying—a soft whimper at first, then louder.

Chairman George placed his hand on her tiny, soft head, gently stroking her soft hair. His voice was low, almost a whisper only for Liora to hear.

'No matter how much you cry and try to run away, I will make sure you remain within reach of the Glaciers.'

Mark, without a second thought, ached forward, taking Liora back into his arms.

"I think she prefers to stay with Papa for now," he said politely, though his tone carried a firm edge.

The Chairman simply smiled. "I understand."

A moment later, Amara returned from the kitchen, carrying a tray with two steaming cups of coffee for their esteemed guest. She handed one to Chairman George and the other to Robert.

"Mark, I heard Liora crying," Amara said, concern in her voice.

Mark chuckled sheepishly. "Liora is stubborn, you know. She only wants to be cradled in Papa's arms."Ashe gazed down at his daughter, his expression softened, filled with love and tenderness.

After finishing their coffee, Chairman George stood up. But he wasn't quite done yet.

"Amara, I brought a camera with me. I would like to take a family photo of you three. I hope you don't mind."

Amara, delighted, readily agreed. She trusted George Glacier like any daughter would trust her father.

Robert pulled out a small camera from his pocket and snapped a few pictures of Amara, Mark, and Liora together. The Chairman, ever so clever, managed to take a single picture of Liora alone.

After their visit, Chairman George and Robert left the house.

A Day Later…

When the photos were printed, the Chairman did something unimaginable.

He mailed the family pictures to Amara's home. But the single photo of Liora? That, he kept. With the picture in hand, he walked through the grand corridors of his mansion until he reached a specific room.

Inside, a young boy—three-year-old Caspian—was playing with his toy dinosaurs.

Chairman George pushed open the door and stepped inside. "Caspian, look what I brought you. A present."

Caspian, curious, his blue eyes looked up from his toys as his grandfather sat beside him. Stretching out his small arms, he reached for the picture Chairman George held out.

A single photograph of baby Liora.

"She is your doll, Caspian," the Chairman said softly. "Isn't she pretty?"

From that day on, Chairman George whispered the same words like a mantra, day after day, feeding the idea into the boy's impressionable mind.

"Liora is your doll. Yours to care for. Yours to love. Yours alone."

And as Caspian grew, so did the belief plant in him.

By the time Liora turned one, the Chairman had taken another picture and shown it to Caspian.

"Your doll has grown a year older now, Caspian. Remember, she is yours. Yours to take care of. Yours to love. Only yours…"

The words imprinted themselves into the boy's mind like an unshakable truth.

And when Caspian finally learned to speak in small sentences,

"My... my dolly!" Caspian pointed at Liora's picture in the Chairman's hands, his young voice stumbling over the words. The Chairman smiled victoriously.

By the time Caspian turned five, chairman George had a custom-made doll created—one that bore a striking resemblance to Liora. And as he expected Caspian did not let go of that doll.

His obsession had only just begun.

Chairman let Liora study in the same school as Caspian. He hoped that his grandson would come across Liora, but that never happened. His grandson did not pay enough attention in his school. He was focused on creating hell for students by creating rules dividing the rich from the commoners and finding ways to bully them. Chairmen could not interfere directly because he wanted it to look fated for Caspian and Liora.