The Day Our Promise Breaks

Just then, a car screeched to a stop right in front of Charlie, blocking Evelyn's view completely.

Evelyn couldn't see her daughter.

Her eyes darted frantically across the street, searching for any sign of Charlie. She was sure absolutely sure-she'd just heard Charlie's voice. This wasn't her imagination. She wasn't dreaming. She had really, truly heard Charlie calling, "Mom."

"Charlie..."

Evelyn whispered her daughter's name, and before she knew it, her legs were carrying her straight into the street. The car that had been blocking her view suddenly swung around, heading right for her as she reached the middle of the

road.

Evelyn was so focused on finding Charlie, she didn't even notice the danger.

The car was almost on her.

At the last possible second-

"Evelyn, watch out!"

A girl nearby shouted, then lunged forward and yanked Evelyn back to safety.

The car sped off.

"Evelyn, are you okay? Did you get hurt?" The two girls hovered around her, their faces tight with worry. They were assigned to stay close to Evelyn, making sure nothing happened to her. Mr. Jenkins had given strict instructions-Evelyn couldn't get so much as a scratch.

"I'm fine. Really," Evelyn said, not noticing how oddly intense the girls' concern

was.

Once she steadied herself, her eyes stayed locked on the other side of the street. The car was gone. But where Charlie's voice had come from, there was no sign of her at all.

It had been three years, but Charlie was her own flesh and blood-

she could pick her out of any crowd, anywhere, without a moment's doubt.

"Charlie!"

Panic tightened around Evelyn's chest.

Where was her Charlie?

knew

She stepped off the curb again, intent on crossing the street to look for her daughter. The two girls couldn't stop her; all they could do was stick close and watch over her as she hurried across the road.

"Charlie, it's Mommy! Where are you, sweetheart? Charlie! I know it's you- please, come out. Mommy misses you so much! Won't you come see me, even just for a second? Charlie... Charlie..."

Evelyn wandered through the unfamiliar streets, calling after her daughter like a mother bird searching for her lost chick.

No matter how desperately she called, there was only silence.

But Evelyn wouldn't give up. She knew—she just knew that was Charlie's voice.noveldrama

The two girls watched as Evelyn's

calm shattered and she plunged into frantic desperation. She ran up to strangers, showing them her phone's lock screen and asking if they'd seen the little girl in the photo.

Things were quickly spinning out of control.

One of the girls stepped aside and pulled out her phone, dialing Charles.

Charles was in the middle of a

remote meeting at the hotel. It wasn't that he didn't want to be with Evelyn he just knew, all too well, that she didn't want to see hims So he'd arranged for two women she didn't know to keep an eye on her, blending in as if by chanée, ready to protect her if anything happened.

His phone rang.

When he saw who was calling, Charles immediately paused the meeting and answered. As soon as he heard that Evelyn had suddenly lost control, his expression changed completely.

He handed the meeting off to Aiden, then bolted from his suite.

Charles dashed out of the elevator and tore through the hotel lobby. Evelyn wasn't far.

The moment he stepped outside, he spotted her in the crowd. He saw the wild, desperate look on her face-a look he hadn't seen in years, the kind of look that only ever appeared when it came to Charlie.

Charles pushed through the crowd toward her.

Getting closer, he heard Evelyn calling Charlie's name. He glanced at her phone's lock screen-there was Charlie's sweet, smiling face, and just seeing it made his heart ache all over again.

Charlie. His lifelong wound.

"Eve."

Charles reached her and pulled her into his arms.

This time, Evelyn didn't push him away. When she realized it was

Charles, she clung to his arm, her

voice trembling, thick with tearet

"Charles, I just heard Charlie call me 'Mom.' Right here. She's noto dead-she's alive!"

Charles didn't know why Evelyn was suddenly saying these impossible things. They both knew-Charlie was gone.

But seeing her like this, he just couldn't break her heart. He spoke softly, "Don't worry. I'll have the hotel send a car. We'll look for her together, okay?"

Not far away, the same car that had almost hit Evelyn was parked at the curb. Charlie lay unconscious on the back seat.

A woman sat beside her, looking out the window at Evelyn as she searched the crowd, frantic and heartbroken. A cold, satisfied smile curled at the woman's lips.