Chapter 2 — The Woman Behind the Door
The heavy metal door slammed against the wall.
Both girls flinched.
The homeless girl instinctively pulled away, clutching the remaining piece of bread to her chest as if someone might take it.
Standing in the doorway was a woman in her early thirties.
She wore a dark coat over a simple café uniform, her face tired from a long shift.
The moment she saw the little girl against the wall, her expression changed.
"No..."
Her voice barely escaped her lips.
She hurried across the sidewalk, dropping the bag she had been carrying.
"Lily?"
The homeless girl slowly looked up.
For a second, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"...Mom?"
The woman fell to her knees and wrapped both arms around her daughter.
"I'm so sorry," she cried softly. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
The little girl buried her face into her mother's shoulder.
"I thought... you weren't coming back."
"I would never leave you."
The woman kissed the top of her daughter's head again and again.
Then her eyes shifted toward the well-dressed little girl.
"You gave her food?"
The girl nodded shyly.
"I just didn't want her to be hungry."
The mother wiped away her tears.
"You may have saved her today."
Before anyone could say another word, a black luxury sedan slowly pulled up beside the sidewalk.
The driver stepped out immediately.
"Miss Amelia," he called respectfully.
"It's time to go."
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The homeless mother stared in confusion.
The little girl in the camel-colored coat wasn't an ordinary child after all.
