Chapter 2: The Woman Everyone Thought Was Dead
Chapter 2: The Woman Everyone Thought Was Dead
The luxury SUV stopped in front of a crumbling apartment building on the edge of the city.
Rain leaked through broken gutters.
Children played barefoot in muddy streets.
The billionaire couldn't believe someone he had spent years searching for might be living there.
Lily led him upstairs.
Apartment 307.
She pushed open the warped wooden door.
"Mommy..."
"I'm home."
A weak voice answered from inside.
"Did you sell enough cans today?"
Then the woman looked toward the doorway.
The bowl slipped from her hands.
It shattered across the floor.
"No..."
She whispered.
"It can't be."
The billionaire stood frozen.
Emma.
Older.
Thinner.
Her face carried scars from years of hardship.
But it was unmistakably her.
He could barely breathe.
"They told me you were dead."
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
"I almost was."
After the ferry accident, she had survived but suffered severe memory loss.
Without identification, she had been treated as a homeless patient.
By the time her memories slowly returned months later, newspapers had already reported her death.
She discovered another heartbreaking truth.
She was pregnant.
Afraid that dangerous people connected to her husband's business enemies might still be looking for them, she disappeared completely.
She changed cities.
Worked odd jobs.
Raised Lily alone.
Until illness stole even that from her.
"I thought staying away would keep both of you safe."
The billionaire slowly crossed the room.
"I searched every country."
"Every hospital."
"Every refugee list."
"I never stopped."
Emma burst into tears.
"So did I."
"I watched your interviews."
"I saw how much pain you carried."
"But every time I wanted to come back..."
"I became afraid."
Lily looked between them.
"So..."
"You know each other?"
The billionaire smiled.
Then, with tears streaming down his face, he whispered words he had dreamed of saying for eight years.
"I'm your father."
Lily stared at him.
Then at her mother.
Emma nodded.
May you like
The little girl dropped her bag of empty cans.
And ran into his arms.
