Chapter 1 - YESTERDAY
A homeless seven-year-old girl found me crying alone in the freezing Chicago rain and held out the last piece of bread she had, asking,
“Mister, are you crying because you’re hungry too?”
She had no idea I was a millionaire CEO who could buy anything I wanted, except the one thing I would have traded every dollar I owned to get back:
My son.
Cold November rain hammered the streets that afternoon.
My name is Sebastian Ross, and at forty-three, most people thought I had everything.
I was the founder and CEO of NovaPay Group, wearing a tailored suit and an expensive watch while executives across downtown Chicago waited for me to attend one of the biggest investor meetings of my career.
But beneath that flickering streetlamp, none of it mattered.
I wasn’t a CEO.
I was a broken father.
Exactly one year earlier, my ex-wife had disappeared with our son, Lucas.
She took him without warning, without my permission, and without giving me the chance to say goodbye.
Three hundred sixty-five days followed.
Unanswered calls.
Canceled video chats.
Lawyers.
Court filings.
Private investigators.
Promises that someone would find him.
Nothing brought my boy home.
That afternoon marked exactly one year since I had last held Lucas, and something inside me finally collapsed.
I walked away from my driver, ignored the calls vibrating in my pocket, and stood alone in the rain.
Then I heard a tiny voice.
“Mister?”
I looked down.
A little girl stood several feet away, no older than seven.
Her oversized sweater hung from her thin shoulders, her uneven braids were soaked, and dirt streaked her small face.
She stared at me seriously.
“Are you crying because you’re hungry too?”
I couldn’t answer.
She reached into the pocket of her sweater and pulled out a crumpled napkin.
Inside was half of a small bread roll.
She extended it toward me.
“You can have this.”
I stared at the bread, then at her.
“What about you?”
She shrugged.
“I already ate some.”
Her stomach growled loudly enough for both of us to hear.
She immediately looked embarrassed.
My chest tightened.
“You’re hungry.”
“I’m okay.”
“No, sweetheart. You’re not.”
She lowered her eyes and whispered:
“I know how it feels when your stomach hurts because you haven’t eaten.”
Then she pushed the bread toward me again.
“Take it.”
I had negotiated deals worth millions without blinking.
I had sat across from powerful investors, politicians, and attorneys while entire companies depended on my decisions.
But I couldn’t take that bread.
A child who had almost nothing was trying to give me half of everything she had.
I crouched in front of her.
“What’s your name?”
“Emily.”
“Where are your parents, Emily?”
Her expression changed.
“My mommy’s gone.”
My stomach tightened.
“And your dad?”
She looked toward the rain-soaked sidewalk.
“I don’t know.”
Those words hit somewhere painfully familiar.
I slowly removed my coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Come with me. Let’s get you something warm to eat.”
She immediately stepped backward.
“No.”
I froze.
Emily clutched my coat around herself, suddenly frightened.
“I can’t leave.”
“Why?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because I’m waiting for someone.”
“Who?”
She hesitated, then reached beneath her sweater and pulled out a small plastic bag tied with string.
Inside was a photograph.
She handed it to me.
My hands began trembling before I even understood why.
The picture showed Emily beside another child.
A little boy.
He was older than the last time I had seen him, thinner too, but I recognized those eyes instantly.
Lucas.
My son.
I looked up at Emily so quickly that she flinched.
“Where did you get this?”
Her lips trembled.
“He gave it to me.”
The rain seemed to disappear.
“When?”
Emily looked behind me, toward the crowded street.
May you like
Then she whispered something that made my entire body go cold.
“Yesterday.”
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