?Chapter 683:


    When his anger finally ebbed, he forced a strained smile and turned to me, attempting to reason. “Your Highness, Miss Dunn, Micha understands her mistakes now. After all, she’s the child’s birth mother. A mother wouldn’t harm her own flesh and blood. Miss Dunn, you should return the child to her.”


    His words made my arms tighten instinctively around the boy. The very thought of letting go sent a chill through me.


    Noticing my reaction, Antoni’s facade cracked. The forced smile faltered, reced by a troubled expression. “Miss Dunn, are you truly going to take someone else’s child by force?”


    His question pierced me, and for a moment, I faltered, words caught in my throat.


    But deep inside, a voice roared,manding me not to let him go. The image of the boy suffering if I released him was unbearable.


    Dominic noticed my hesitation. He frowned, leaning closer, his voice low but firm. “Makenna, what’s going on with you?”


    I bit my bottom lip, torn by the battle raging inside me. After a long, suffocating silence, I turned to Dominic with trembling resolve. “I want this child.”


    His eyes widened in shock. “The mother is still alive, Makenna. You have no right to take her child.”


    “No! She doesn’t deserve to be a mother!” My voice cracked with fury, trembling with anguish. I loosened the thin, tattered cloth wrapped around the child, revealing his frail, dirt-streaked body.


    Bruises marred his tiny arms and legs, patches of grime clung to his skin. The sight made my stomach twist in horror.


    “Look at him,” I said, my voice breaking. “Even if it’s her first time being a mother, how could she let this happen? How could she starve him? Hurt him? Neglect him like this?”


    Dominic’s icy gaze drifted past my shoulder. “Antoni, Makenna is right. If this child stays with her, he won’t survive much longer.”


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    Antoni squinted at him. “And what would you propose, Your Highness?”


    Dominic didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned toward Micha, who cowered on the ground, trembling under his scrutiny. His voice was calm, but every word carried quiet disdain. “Name your price. I’ll buy the child.”


    Micha froze, her face draining of color as though the very air had been stolen from her lungs. She scrambled to her feet, shaking her head wildly. “No! Your Highness, please! He’s my child!”


    Her desperate cries were silenced by the sound of deliberate, echoing footsteps.


    Amanding voice cut through the tension. “What’s all thismotion? This is uneptable!”


    Everyone turned, stunned, as Leonardo approached.


    Makenna’s POV:


    We jolted back to the present, bowing our heads in deference to the king as he approached.


    Dominic broke the silence. “Father, what brings you here?”


    Leonardo lifted his chin, his posture regal yet unhurried. “I nned for a ride today. Antoni mentioned acquiring some remarkable horses, so I thought I’d inspect them myself.”


    His eyes swept over us, sharp and observant, as his brow creased. “But tell me—what is going on here?”


    I opened my mouth to exin, but Antoni stepped forward to cut me off.


    “Your Majesty, Miss Dunn inexplicably tried to take the child of Micha, one of my servants here, and is refusing to return him,” he said, his toneced with feigned difficulty. It was an impressive performance, but it made my blood boil.


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