The windows looked dark.
For a moment, Ethan couldn't breathe.
“Would you like me to wait?” the driver asked.
“Yes.”
Ethan stepped out.
He slowly walked toward the front door.
His hand trembled slightly as he touched the old brass handle.
Then he heard something.
A child's laughter.
Ethan froze.
It came from inside the house.
He frowned.
That was impossible.
The house had been abandoned for years.
He heard the laughter again.
Then a little boy's voice.
“Mom! Come look!”
Ethan's heart began pounding.
Mom?
He slowly pushed the door open.
And then he saw her.
A woman stood in the kitchen holding a plate.
She was older than the Clara he remembered.
Her hair was longer.
Her face was thinner.
But there was no mistaking those eyes.
Ethan's entire body went numb.
The plate slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor.
She stared at him.
He stared at her.
Neither spoke.
Then a little boy stepped out from behind her.
He was about eight years old.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
And a small scar above his eyebrow.
Ethan recognized that scar immediately.
He had the exact same one.
The boy looked at him curiously.
Then he looked at his mother.
“Mom…”
The woman covered her mouth.
Tears filled her eyes.
Ethan could barely speak.
“Clara?”
She whispered his name.
“Ethan…”
His world stopped.
A BILLIONAIRE RETURNED TO SELL HIS ABANDONED CHILDHOOD HOME — BUT WHEN HE OPENED THE DOOR, HE SAW THE WIFE HE THOUGHT WAS DEAD… AND A LITTLE BOY WHO LOOKED EXACTLY LIKE HIM.
