Chapter 1
MY MOTHER PROMISED TO WATCH MY SON—THEN I FOUND HIM LOCKED OUTSIDE WHILE SHE ATTENDED A GALA
Adrian Sterling pushed open the ballroom doors with his seven-year-old son in his arms.
The music stopped.
Noah’s clothes were torn and covered in mud. His lips were blue from the cold, and he clutched a piece of dry bread against his chest.
At the center of the room stood Adrian’s mother, Vivian, wearing a gold gown and a diamond necklace.
“You promised to watch him!” Adrian shouted. “Look at what you did!”
Hours earlier, Vivian had insisted Adrian leave Noah at the family estate while he attended an emergency meeting.
When Adrian returned, the house was empty.
He finally found Noah behind a locked garden gate in the rain.
Vivian’s champagne glass trembled.
“The staff were responsible.”
“You sent the staff home.”
Guests began whispering.
Vivian lowered her voice.
“Do not humiliate this family.”
Adrian pulled Noah closer.
“You abandoned my son, and you’re worried about your reputation?”
Noah looked at his grandmother.
“She told me I couldn’t come inside.”
Adrian froze.
“Why?”
The boy’s voice shook.
“Grandma said I had to disappear until you signed the papers.”
Vivian’s glass slipped from her hand and shattered across the marble floor.
Then Noah pointed toward the stage.
“There’s the envelope, Daddy.”
May you like
Adrian saw his name printed across it.
And beside the podium stood a woman in a red dress, watching Noah with fear.
