So why her?
It wasn’t just her looks. That wasn’t enough to catch his attention.
There had to be more to it.
Theron lowered his gaze to the boy in his arms.
Theo’s skin burned with fever. His breathing came shallow and uneven, each breath weaker than the last.
This wasn’t new.
Four years ago, Theron had found him in a trash bin-barely alive, poisoned, clinging to whatever strength he had left.
They saved him.
But not completely.
Since then, the fevers kept coming back. Ten days at a time. Sometimes longer. Each one worse than the last.
The doctors hadn’t sugarcoated it.
If this kept up-
Theo didn’t have much time.
“Any updates on Dr. Nyx?” Theron asked.
Rhys shook his head. “Nothing concrete. He’s off the grid. And even if we find him… there’s no guarantee he’ll agree to help.”
Theron’s expression hardened.
“Find him.”
A beat.
“Whatever it takes.”
The temperature in the car seemed to drop.
Rhys tightened his grip on the wheel. “Understood.”
In his arms, Theo shifted slightly.
A faint sound slipped from his lips.
“Mo… Mommy…”
Theron went still.
The word came again, weak and broken.
“Mommy…”
He knew who the boy meant.
Not the woman who gave birth to him.
Her.
Scarlett.
As for Theo’s real mother-
The woman who had thrown him away like he was nothing-
Theron’s gaze turned cold.
He would find her.
And when he did-
She wouldn’t get away with it.
Meanwhile-
Scarlett had just stepped out of the car when a sudden unease hit her.
Her hand went to her chest.
A dull, twisting pain tightened around her ribs, sharp enough to make her pause.
“Are you okay?” Howard asked.
“I’m fine.”
She lowered her hand, her gaze settling on the small house beneath the wide, shadowy branches of a banyan tree.
This was it.
After her mother remarried, Scarlett had been left behind in the countryside with her father-a gambler who barely cared whether she lived or died.
One day, he disappeared.
No warning. No explanation.
Just gone.
She would have starved-
If the Monroe family hadn’t taken her in.
They raised her like their own.
Louie treated her like a real sister.
For a while, she had something that felt like a home.
Until five years ago, when her biological mother came back and took her away.
After that, the Monroes moved to the city and built a quiet life on the outskirts.
They had always been good to her.
Better than family.
And now, after five years-
She was finally back.
Her throat tightened.
Scarlett stepped forward and knocked on the door.
A moment later, it opened.
“Lettie!”
Amy stood there, her face lighting up-then faltering.
“I’m sorry… we couldn’t come get you today-“
“It’s okay,” Scarlett said softly. “I’m not a kid anymore.”
She stepped inside-
And stopped.
The yard was a mess.
Chairs overturned. Dirt disturbed. Something had happened here.
Her expression sharpened.
“What happened?”
Amy hesitated, her shoulders sinking slightly.
“Come in first,” she said. “It’s been a long time. Go see Louie.”
Scarlett frowned.
If he was home, why hadn’t he come out?
A second later, she got her answer.
A wheelchair rolled into view from the hallway.
Scarlett froze.
“…Louie?”
Her voice broke.
Her eyes dropped instantly to his legs.
She crossed the room in two quick steps, reaching for the blanket covering them.
“Don’t,” he said, catching her wrist. “You don’t need to see it.”
Her jaw tightened.
“Let go.”
“Lettie-“
“Let go.”
Her voice was low. Steady. Not a request.
Louie held her gaze for a second-
Then slowly released her.
He looked away.
Scarlett pulled the blanket back-
And everything inside her went cold.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.