Chapter 7 - The Son Who Was Not His
Months later, Ethan saw Maya again at a science gala in Washington.
Daniel stood beside her.
And near them was a little boy around four years old, holding Daniel’s hand.
Ethan’s chest tightened unexpectedly.
The child had Daniel’s smile and Maya’s dark eyes.
“This is Leo,” Maya said.
Daniel knelt beside the boy.
“Leo, say hello to Mr. Vance.”
“Hello,” Leo said shyly.
Ethan smiled.
“Hello, Leo.”
The boy looked at Ethan’s name tag.
“Are you important?”
Daniel tried not to laugh.
Maya covered her smile.
Ethan looked at the child.
For years, he would have answered with his title.
Chief Executive Officer.
Billionaire.
Chairman.
Instead, he said, “I am trying to become better.”
Leo considered that.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
It was a small moment.
But it changed something in Ethan.
He had imagined Maya’s new life as an insult.
A replacement.
A punishment.
But Leo was not proof that Ethan had lost.
He was proof that Maya had found joy without him.
And Daniel was not the man who stole her.
He was the man who gave her what Ethan never did.
Safety.
May you like
Respect.
A home where she did not have to fight to be noticed.
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