Chapter 1 - The Elevator Doors
The elevator doors began to close, but a large hand suddenly shot through the gap.
The metal groaned as Damian forced the heavy doors back open.
He stepped into the tight space with me and Evan.
His chest was heaving beneath his wet, charcoal suit jacket.
I backed Evan's wheelchair tightly into the corner.
Damian did not look at me.
He looked down at the boy who shared his exact gray eyes.
"You are not doing this alone," he said.
His deep voice left absolutely no room for argument.
I wanted to scream at him to leave us alone.
I wanted to demand where he had been for the last five years.
But Evan reached out and grabbed my trembling hand.
"Mommy, why is the sad man crying?" my son asked.
Damian flinched as if he had been physically struck.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his vibrating phone.
The caller ID flashed a name that made my blood run cold.
Vivian Cross.
His mother had never called him in my presence unless it was to destroy me.
Damian stared at the glowing screen with dead eyes.
He pressed the speaker button and answered the call.
"Damian, the hospital just flagged the black card," Vivian's sharp voice echoed in the small elevator.
"I know," he replied quietly.
"I warned you not to give that trashy woman an open line of credit," she spat.
Damian's jaw clenched tightly.
"You also told me she moved to Europe five years ago," he said.
May you like
Vivian went completely silent on the other end of the line.
"So why am I looking at a five-year-old boy in a Boston hospital who looks exactly like me?" he asked.
