Part 2: The Boy Who Sent the Message
The private jet landed in Chicago just after sunset.
Mason had spent the entire flight staring at the photograph.
Not once had the image left his screen.
Not once had his heart slowed.
The unknown number never answered his calls.
Every minute felt like another grain of sand slipping through an hourglass.
When the jet touched down, a second message finally appeared.
Mercy General Hospital. Room 814.
That was all.
No explanation.
No name.
No punctuation.
Just an address.
Mason was already running before his driver had fully opened the car door.
The elevator ride to the eighth floor felt endless.
When the doors slid open, he saw a small boy sitting alone outside Room 814.
The child looked about six years old.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A worn blue hoodie two sizes too big.
He held a cracked tablet in his lap.
The moment Mason stepped closer, the boy stood.
"Are you Mason?"
The question nearly stopped his heart.
"Yes."
The boy nodded.
"Okay."
That was all.
No excitement.
No fear.
Just relief.
Mason swallowed.
"You sent me the photo?"
The boy looked down.
"I wasn't sure if it was your number."
"How did you get it?"
The child hesitated.
"Mom kept one picture."
Mason froze.
"What picture?"
The boy opened the tablet.
A scanned photograph filled the screen.
Six years old.
Faded around the edges.
Mason and Elena sat together on a Brooklyn rooftop.
His arm around her shoulders.
Both smiling.
On the back was written:
If anything ever happens, find Mason. He'll come.
The words were in Elena's handwriting.
For a moment Mason couldn't breathe.
"What's your name?"
"Lucas."
Mason's knees nearly buckled.
The boy looked exactly like Elena.
But the eyes.
The eyes were his.
His own eyes stared back at him.
The realization struck with such force that he grabbed the wall.
"Lucas..."
The boy shifted nervously.
"Are you mad?"
"No."
The word broke apart in Mason's throat.
"No, buddy."
Buddy.
The word felt strange.
And right.
A nurse stepped out of the room.
"Family?"
Mason looked at Lucas.
Lucas looked at Mason.
The nurse smiled sadly.
"She woke up for a few minutes."
Mason's pulse exploded.
"Can I see her?"
The nurse nodded.
"Just don't upset her."
Mason entered the room slowly.
Elena lay against white pillows.
Paler than he remembered.
Thinner.
But unmistakably her.
The woman who had once been his entire world.
Her eyes opened.
For several seconds neither spoke.
Then tears slid down her cheeks.
"Mason."
The sound of his name shattered six years of silence.
He moved beside the bed.
"Why?"
Her eyes closed.
"Because your mother paid me to disappear."
The room went still.
Mason stared.
"What?"
"She said she'd destroy you."
Elena's voice trembled.
"She said she'd ruin your future, your company, everything your father built."
Tears streamed down her face.
"I was pregnant."
Mason felt the earth shift beneath him.
"I know."
She glanced toward the door.
"Lucas."
"He's mine?"
A sob escaped her.
"Yes."
For several seconds Mason couldn't speak.
Six years.
Six years stolen.
Then Elena whispered the words that hurt most.
"I thought you hated me."
Mason took her hand.
"No."
His voice broke.
May you like
"I never stopped loving you."
And for the first time in six years, Elena smiled.
