Chapter 2 - The Face in the Shadows“No! Get away from him!”
The voice cut through the damp alley like shattered glass. A blonde woman in an elegant tan trench coat rushed past the dumpster, her face pale with motherly panic as she grabbed Chloe’s arm and yanked her daughter back.
“Mom!” Chloe cried out, her small boots slipping on the wet brick. “He’s hungry!”
“Chloe, how many times have I told you not to approach strangers on the street? It isn't safe!” Eleanor Vance scolded, her heart pounding as she placed her body defensively between her daughter and the homeless child.
The boy froze, pulling the sandwich tightly against his chest, his shoulders curling inward as he prepared to be yelled at or chased away. He kept his head lowered, waiting for the harsh words he was so used to hearing from adults in rich clothes.
Eleanor turned toward him, her lips parted to order him away.
But the moment she saw his face in the gray afternoon light, everything inside her stopped.
The rain seemed to freeze in mid-air. The sound of the city traffic faded into absolute silence.
His blue eyes—a vivid, striking shade of sapphire that matched her own.
The faint, crescent-shaped scar running just above his left eyebrow.
And the distinct, subconscious way his bottom lip trembled when he was terrified.
Eleanor’s hand loosened. Her expensive leather handbag slipped from her fingers, hitting the wet pavement with a soft thud, its contents spilling open across the dirt. She didn't care. She couldn't breathe.
The boy stared up at her, confused and frightened by the heavy tears suddenly flooding the woman's eyes.
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His voice came out small, a fragile, instinctive murmur born from a memory buried deep in his mind.
“Mom?”
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