Chapter 2 – The Boy Who Was Never Meant to Be Found
Chapter 2 – The Boy Who Was Never Meant to Be Found
Before sunrise, Alejandro and Sofia sat across from Veronica in the mansion library.
No one had slept.
Veronica looked ten years older than she had the night before.
"I'll tell you everything," she whispered.
"I owe him that."
She confessed that fifteen years earlier she had bribed a corrupt doctor and a hospital administrator to declare the baby dead.
Instead of allowing the Carringtons to take their son home...
...she secretly sold the infant to a child broker.
The broker had promised the baby would disappear forever.
"But I couldn't stop thinking about him," Veronica admitted.
"A year later I found out he wasn't adopted by a wealthy family."
Sofia slowly lifted her tear-filled eyes.
"Then where?"
Veronica broke down.
"A retired schoolteacher named Eleanor Hayes found him after the broker abandoned him."
"They couldn't have children."
"They raised him as their own."
Alejandro stood abruptly.
"Where do they live?"
Veronica handed him an old address she had hidden for years.
"A small fishing village... four hours from here."
Without another word, Alejandro and Sofia left.
For the first time in fifteen years...
They weren't driving toward a funeral.
They were driving toward hope.
The little seaside town had no luxury cars.
No towering mansions.
Only quiet streets...
Salt air...
And modest homes.
Outside a tiny white house, a teenage boy repaired an old bicycle.
He had dark hair.
Hazel eyes.
And behind his right ear...
A perfect five-pointed star.
Sofia couldn't breathe.
Alejandro whispered only one word.
"Lucas..."
The boy looked up.
Confused.
"Can I help you?"
Neither parent could answer.
They had imagined this moment thousands of times.
Nothing had prepared them for the reality.
An elderly woman stepped onto the porch.
Protectively.
She immediately understood.
"You finally found him."
Silence settled over everyone.
"My name is Eleanor," she said softly.
"I've been waiting fifteen years."