The little boy had glue on his fingers and no father to hold up in front of the class, and the man sitting in the tiny plastic chair beside him was worth twelve billion dollars / Chapter 7 / 20

Chapter 7 - THE RETURN OF DAVIDBy Friday, the rumor mill in the small town of Oak Creek had reached a fever pitch.

Word had spread from the local diner to the gas station that the quiet worker at the old cottage was actually a billionaire—and that Nora Vance had been living under his roof for three months. To a town where most people barely made forty thousand a year, twelve billion dollars wasn't just money; it was a fable.

And fables always attracted wolves.

Nora was leaving the bakery at 4:00 PM, holding Toby's hand, when a rusted silver sedan pulled up to the curb, its muffler rattling loudly against the pavement. The driver's side door swung open, and a man stepped out wearing a faded leather jacket and scuffed boots. He had sharp, narrow features and a faint scent of stale beer and cheap tobacco hanging around him.

David.

Nora's grip on Toby's hand tightened instantly, her body going cold.

"Look at you," David said, leaning against the hood of his car with an arrogant smirk that made Nora’s stomach churn. "Living the high life, huh? I hear you're playing house with some hotshot billionaire from New York."

"Get away from us, David," Nora said, her voice dropping into a razor-thin edge as she pushed Toby slightly behind her coat.

"Hey, don't be like that, Nora. I'm just checking in on my family," David said, taking a slow step forward. His eyes flicked down to Toby, who was staring at his father's face with a mixture of confusion and instinctual fear. "Kid's grown. Looks like he needs a proper father figure—not some rich guy using you for a local hobby."

"You abandoned him six years ago," Nora spat, her eyes burning with pure, concentrated fury. "You took our savings and left us with a eviction notice! You don't get to say his name!"

David's smirk vanished, replaced by an ugly, defensive sneer. "I've got legal rights, Nora. I never signed away my paternity. And now that I hear there's billions of dollars floating around my kid's life, maybe I ought to file for full custody. See how much that rich boyfriend of yours is willing to pay to keep me out of your hair."