He opened his laptop, unlocked a hidden encrypted folder, and clicked through old photos—Ella on the beach, Ella laughing in pajamas, Ella hugging him from behind. Then he found something he barely remembered: an old pregnancy test.
Positive.
Daniel went cold.
She had been pregnant.
She had been pregnant when he walked away.
And he’d left anyway.
His phone buzzed.
A text from his assistant, Jake:
“Found something. Sending an address in 5.”
Daniel stared at the screen.
Whatever happened next would change everything.
The following day, Daniel drove himself to the address Jake sent. It was a modest apartment building in a working-class neighborhood—nothing like the world Daniel lived in now.
At four p.m., Ella stepped outside with the three boys. Their backpacks were on. Her hair was neatly combed. She held their hands as they walked toward the bus stop.
Daniel crossed the street.
“Ella.”
She stopped dead.
For a split second, her eyes widened—shock, disbelief, and the old pain he’d left behind—then her face hardened.
“Go wait at the corner store,” she told the boys gently.
When they were far enough away, she turned back to Daniel.
“What are you doing here?”
“I saw you… the other day. With them.”
“And?”