CHAPTER 2: The Secret Hidden Inside the Golden Locket
When the final note ended, nobody applauded.
Everyone simply stared.
Alexander stood beside the child, tears already forming in his eyes.
His voice shook.
"Where did you learn this song?"
The girl looked frightened.
"My mother taught me."
Alexander's entire body froze.
"Your mother's name?"
"Sophia."
The room exploded with gasps.
Alexander nearly stumbled backward.
"No…"
The girl slowly removed the golden locket from her neck.
She opened it carefully.
Inside was an old photograph.
A young woman smiling beside a handsome young man.
Alexander's hands began shaking uncontrollably.
It was him.
Thirty years younger.
The little girl pointed at the picture.
"My mother said my father wrote this song before he disappeared."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"She told me if I ever got lost, I should play this song."
Alexander dropped to his knees.
"My God."
He gently grabbed her hands.
"What is your name?"
"Emma."
"How old are you?"
"Nine."
"Where is your mother?"
Emma's face crumbled instantly.
"She's very sick."
The ballroom fell completely silent.
Emma continued speaking.
"We've been living in a shelter."
"She didn't want to bother anyone."
"She said if she couldn't survive… I should find the man who wrote this song."
Alexander could barely breathe.
Because thirty years ago…
Sophia never abandoned him.
Someone had separated them.
Someone had lied.
Someone had stolen decades from both their lives.
For years, Alexander believed Sophia had chosen another man.
Meanwhile, Sophia had spent thirty years raising their daughter alone.
A flood of regret crashed into him.
He wrapped Emma in his arms.
And for the first time in his life…
The billionaire cried in front of everyone.
"I'm your father."
Emma stared at him in disbelief.
Then she whispered.
"You came."
May you like
Alexander broke down completely.
"I should have come years ago."
