1.A Six-Year-Old Girl Approached Me Beneath The Station Clock And Asked Where Children Go When Their Mother Does Not Wake Up. Then She Pulled An Old Photograph From Her Worn Bag. The Woman Beside My Younger Self Was The One Person I Had Abandoned Thirteen Years Earlier.

The heavy oak front door was rattled by loud, aggressive pounding.

I immediately stood up, placing myself in front of Rebecca. "Stay here."

I walked swiftly to the main foyer, where Marcus and two security guards were already standing near the entrance, guns drawn. I motioned for them to hold their fire and pulled open the heavy wooden door.

Standing on the porch under the blazing floodlights was Richard Sterling. His clothes were rumpled, his face flushed red from alcohol, and his eyes wildly bloodshot.

"Adrian!" Richard yelled, stumbling forward before Marcus shoved him back. "You ruined me! You gave my evidence to the District Attorney!"

"You ruined yourself, Richard," I said coldly, stepping onto the porch. "You and Julian stole millions and endangered innocent lives. The police are looking for you."

"I lost everything today!" Richard screamed, pulling a black metallic object from his coat pocket.

It was a small revolver.

Marcus instantly raised his weapon, but Richard was out of his mind with desperation, waving the gun frantically between me and the security team.

"You think you can just play happy family now?!" Richard cackled hysterically. "You ruined my life, my reputation, my fortune! If I'm going to prison for the rest of my life, I'm taking your dream with me!"

Suddenly, a door opened behind me.

"Adrian, what's going on—" Rebecca stepped into the foyer, holding Nora tightly in her arms. Nora cried out in fear, hiding her face against her mother's neck.

Richard's eyes locked onto Rebecca and Nora. A sick, desperate smile spread across his face as he shifted the gun's aim directly toward them. "Is this them? The secret family? Let's see how much your empire is worth when—"

Before Richard could finish his sentence or pull the trigger, I lunged forward with everything I had.

BANG!

The sharp crack of a gunshot echoed through the courtyard. A searing pain burst across my left shoulder, throwing off my momentum, but I slammed into Richard with full force. We crashed onto the stone porch. I grabbed his wrist, driving his hand into the hard stone until the gun clattered away into the bushes.

Marcus slammed Richard into the ground, pinning him down and securing his hands behind his back with zip-ties.

I lay on my back, gasping for air, clutching my shoulder as dark red blood began staining my shirt.

"Adrian!"

Rebecca dropped to her knees beside me, her hands trembling as she pressed down on my bleeding wound. Nora was crying hysterically nearby, held safely by a security guard.

"Call an ambulance!" Rebecca screamed at the guard, her eyes wide with terror as she looked down at me. "Adrian, stay with me! Don't you dare close your eyes!"

Despite the burning agony in my shoulder, I reached up with my clean hand and touched her face, smiling faintly.

"I didn't run away this time," I whispered weakly.