Chapter 2

The teacher walked ahead. Her heels clicked sharply against the polished concrete floor.

Ethan stood frozen in place.

I held Leo tightly in my arms, keeping my eyes locked on Ethan.

The cuffs of Leo's school hoodie were completely frayed, exposing his thin, pale little wrist.

He buried his face in my neck. His body was shivering slightly from the rain.

“Ethan, let’s go,” I called out.

Ethan wiped the rain from his face. His skin looked sickly pale.

“Claire, there’s really no need. The teacher must have gotten the wrong person. Preschool teachers these days are so unreliable.”

He reached out to grab my arm.

I stepped aside, dodging his hand.

“Let’s just go look. Who knows? Maybe one of your clients has a kid named Lily too.”

The teacher looked back at us, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“Lily’s dad, it’s right ahead. Lily should still be having her snack.”

Ethan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard.

He didn't say another word and followed silently behind me.

The hallway was long, the walls covered in colorful children's drawings.

The teacher stopped outside a classroom door and pointed inside.

“There she is. That’s Lily.”

I followed her finger.

The classroom was warm and brightly lit.

A group of children in beautiful, expensive clothes sat around a circular table.

Right in the middle sat a little girl. She was wearing a pink tutu dress and a sparkling crystal headband.

She was holding a massive, deep-purple cherry, stuffing it into her mouth.

The cherries were huge. They looked incredibly expensive.

Leo shifted in my arms.

He whispered in my ear,

“Mommy, I want some too.”

I gently patted his back.

“Ethan, you told me you bought that box of cherries for a client.”

Ethan stood by the back door of the classroom, not daring to step inside.

He kept his head down, his voice barely a whisper.

“I did give them to a client... Maybe their kid goes to school here. It’s probably just a coincidence. Same name.”

Right then, the little girl named Lily looked up.

She spotted Ethan standing at the door.

Her eyes lit up. She tossed the cherry aside and jumped down from her chair.

She ran toward us as fast as her little legs could carry her.

“Daddy!”

Her voice was high and loud, echoing through the hallway.

Ethan stiffened completely.

The young teacher inside the classroom looked over and smiled. “Lily, your dad is here to pick you up!”

Lily threw her arms around Ethan’s leg, clinging to him.

“Daddy, why are you so late today? Chloe said you were going to take me out for pizza!”

Ethan instinctively pushed the little girl away, his panicked eyes darting to me.

“No... Claire, let me explain.”

He tried to shake his leg free from Lily’s grip.

His movement was too rough. Lily lost her balance and landed hard on her butt.

“Waaah!”

The little girl burst into tears.

Ethan bent down to help her, but froze halfway and pulled his hands back.

A hurried set of footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway.

A woman in a chic cream-colored trench coat rushed over.

She scooped Lily up into her arms, frantically dusting off the girl’s dress.

“What happened? How did you fall, sweetie?”

The woman looked up, revealing a face with flawless, heavy makeup.

It was Chloe.

Ethan’s so-called "distant cousin." She had moved to our city three years ago, claiming she needed help finding a job.

When Chloe saw Ethan, her eyes instantly welled with tears.

“Ethan, how could you let her fall and cry like this?”

Before she could finish her sentence, she finally noticed me standing there.

The expression on Chloe’s face froze.

Holding the child, she took a half-step back.

“Claire... you’re here too.”

Leo coughed twice in my arms.

I adjusted my grip on him, looking at the three of them.

The man in a tailored suit, the woman in a designer trench coat, the child in a fancy tutu.

Meanwhile, my son and I were soaking wet, looking completely miserable.

Ethan opened his mouth to speak.

I turned around and walked away.

“We’re discussing this at home.”