Chapter 1
A woman threw a piece of bread into the dirt for a hungry little boy to pick up—and before anyone could react, a man ran across the street and slapped her.
My name is Emily, and I was having lunch at a crowded restaurant in downtown Nashville when I noticed the boy.
He couldn’t have been older than seven.
He sat alone on the sidewalk, watching people carry plates past the window.
After a few minutes, he finally gathered the courage to approach our outdoor table.
“Ma’am, do you have any food you don’t want?”
The woman beside us, Vanessa, looked him up and down.
“Go away.”
The boy immediately stepped back.
“I’m sorry.”
Then his stomach growled loudly enough for several people to hear.
I reached for the untouched sandwich on my plate.
Vanessa stopped me.
“Don’t encourage him.”
“He’s hungry.”
“So?”
The boy lowered his head.
“I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”
Vanessa picked up a piece of bread from her table.
For a second, I thought she was going to hand it to him.
Instead, she threw it toward the sidewalk.
It landed beside the gutter.
“There. If you’re really hungry, eat that.”
A few people gasped.
The boy stared at the bread.
Then he slowly knelt down.
“Don’t pick that up,” I said.
But he whispered, “I need to save half for my sister.”
That was when someone across the street shouted.
“HEY!”
A man in a dark suit ran through traffic toward us.
Vanessa barely had time to turn around.
He reached her and slapped her across the face.
“What is wrong with you?” she screamed.
The man ignored her and dropped beside the boy.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
The child stared at him in confusion.
Then the man pulled an old photograph from his wallet.
My heart stopped when I saw it.
The picture showed the same little boy as a baby.
Vanessa saw it too.
Her expression changed instantly.
The man slowly stood and looked at her.
“You recognize him, don’t you?”
Vanessa backed away from the table.
May you like
Then the boy whispered something that made the man freeze.
“She’s the lady who told me my dad was dead.”
