Chapter 2: The Living Ghost
The Miller home was a small, faded blue house with a sagging front porch, completely buried beneath a canopy of overgrown oak trees. It stood in stark contrast to the glass towers and cold marble palaces Daniel usually inhabited.
As Annie pushed the front door open, the scent of cinnamon, pine cleaner, and toasted bread washed over them.
"Mama! I found him!" Annie called out, dropping her backpack by the door.
A woman in her late thirties emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a faded apron. Her face went entirely pale the moment her eyes locked onto Daniel’s towering frame and the expensive black wool coat that practically screamed elite society.
"Mr. Carter," she breathed, her voice filled with a mixture of awe and immediate, defensive protectiveness. "I'm Sarah. I... I wanted to find you sooner, but the stories in the news about your family... we didn't know who we could trust."
Daniel didn't answer. His eyes had already bypassed her, tracking a slight movement in the shadow of the hallway.
A small, thin boy stood there, clutching the wooden frame of the door. He was wearing an oversized green sweater with sleeves rolled up past his small wrists. His blond hair was longer, shaggier than it had been a year ago, but his eyes—those striking, piercing gray-green eyes—were unmistakable.
The room seemed to lose all its gravity.
"Ethan," Daniel whispered.
The little boy blinked, his shoulders tensing. He looked at Daniel, then down at the worn rug, then back up. For twelve agonizing months, Ethan had been told his father had abandoned him, that his father was too busy with his billions to care about a broken little boy.
The step forward: Daniel dropped to his knees right there on the hardwood floor, utterly disregarding his dignity, his status, everything.
The scar: Daniel saw the small, faint white line cutting through Ethan’s left eyebrow.
The voice: "Ethan... it's Daddy. I never stopped looking for you, baby. I never left you."
Ethan’s lower lip trembled. He took a hesitant, shaking step out of the shadows. "Uncle Marcus said... he said you signed the papers to give me away. He said the grave had my name on it."
May you like
"They lied to us, Ethan," Daniel choked out, tears finally streaming down his face as he reached out his arms. "They built a graveyard of lies, but I’m here. I’m right here."
With a ragged sob, Ethan broke. He sprinted across the room and launched his small, frail body into Daniel’s chest. Daniel wrapped his powerful arms around his son, pulling him so close it felt as if he were trying to fuse Ethan back into his very soul. He buried his face in his son’s hair, smelling the cheap strawberry shampoo and the faint scent of rain.
