Chapter 4 - The House on the HillThirty minutes later, Eleanor’s silver Mercedes SUV pulled into the gated driveway of the Vance Estate in Mercer Island.
Leo sat in the front passenger seat, wrapped in a plush wool blanket Eleanor kept in the trunk. He stared wide-eyed at the towering wrought-iron security gates, the manicured lawns, and the massive brick mansion that looked like a castle.
Memory was a strange, fragmented thing for Leo. He remembered dark rooms, cold floors, harsh voices, and a man named "Gideon" who made him dig through trash cans for aluminum cans. But as the vehicle stopped in front of the grand stone steps, a faint, familiar warmth stirred deep in his chest.
Eleanor refused to let him walk. She carried the nine-year-old boy up the steps herself, holding him as if he weighed nothing at all.
Inside the grand foyer, the household staff gathered in shocked silence.
The head housekeeper, Mrs. Gable, gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "Mrs. Vance... sweet mercy, is that...?"
"Call Dr. Mercer immediately," Eleanor commanded, her tone fierce and unyielding as she carried Leo toward the master wing. "Tell him to bring a full medical examination kit to the house right now. And prepare a hot bath."
As Mrs. Gable scrambled toward the house phone, footsteps echoed down the grand spiral staircase.
Julian Vance walked into the foyer, holding a glass of scotch, his tailored suit immaculate. "Eleanor, where have you been? You missed the afternoon briefing with the trust attorneys—"
Julian stopped dead on the bottom stair. His glass slipped from his fingers, shattering across the white marble floor, splashing scotch over his leather shoes.
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He stared at the filthy child wrapped in the white blanket.
"Julian..." Eleanor whispered, her eyes shining with triumphant tears. "Look who I found. It’s Leo. He’s home."
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