Chapter 1 - THE BOY WHO CHOSE HER
"I want Emma to be my mom!"
The words hit Adrian Walker harder than a punch.
He had barely stepped out of his car when two-year-old Noah ran across the park, tears streaking his cheeks.
But Noah did not run to him.
He ran to Emma.
"Emma stays!" Noah cried.
"What happened?"
Emma swallowed.
"Your mother fired me."
"Victoria fired you?"
"She said I was forgetting my place."
Noah wrapped both arms around Emma's knees.
For two years, he had rejected almost everyone Adrian hired.
Tutors complained.
Even family members could not calm him when he woke screaming after Celeste died.
Within weeks, Noah slept through the night.
He ate without throwing his plate.
The old Walker mansion had finally sounded like a home.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Get in the car."
"Where are we going?"
"To ask my mother why she thinks she runs my son's life."
Victoria Walker was waiting in the drawing room when they arrived.
She sat beneath a portrait of Adrian's grandfather, straight-backed and perfectly calm.
"You brought that woman back into my house?"
Adrian set Noah down.
"You fired her without asking me."
"I protected this family."
"From what?"
Victoria looked at Emma as if she were dirt on an expensive shoe.
"From people who forget their boundaries."
"No! Emma stays!"
"You see? That is exactly why."
Adrian lowered his voice.
"He's two. He knows who makes him feel safe."
Victoria snapped before she could stop herself.
"You don't know anything."
"What does that mean?"
Victoria crossed the room, opened a cabinet, and threw a folder onto the table.
"Start by asking your nanny who she really is."
Adrian opened it.
The first page showed a birth certificate.
Emma Carter was not listed anywhere.
Adrian slowly raised his eyes.
"Emma?"
"I never came here to hurt you."
"Then why did you lie?"
Emma reached inside her uniform and pulled out a silver locket.
Inside was a faded photograph of two teenage girls.
Adrian recognized one immediately.
Celeste.
"Who is the other girl?"
Emma's voice broke.
"Me."
"Celeste was my sister."
Then she pulled a folded note from behind the photograph.
Adrian knew Celeste's handwriting before he read the first line.
If Noah survives, keep Emily close.
She is the only person I trust to love my son without wanting anything in return.
Adrian kept reading.
Then his hands stopped.
May you like
Adrian must know the truth someday.
I am afraid of Victoria.
