Chapter 13 - Begging in the Rain
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A month passed. The storm had finally settled.
Under Dr. Thorne's gentle care and my constant presence, Liam was transforming. His hollow cheeks had filled out with health, his skin was glowing, and his bright, musical laughter once again echoed through our high-rise penthouse. He no longer hid under furniture. Every night, he slept peacefully in his sunlit room, clutching his favorite plush bear.
One rainy Tuesday evening, as I was returning home from the Vance-Carter executive offices, I stepped out of my limousine in the private subterranean garage of my building.
A figure emerged from behind a concrete pillar.
"Madeline..."
I stopped, my security guard immediately stepping in front of me, his hand resting on his holster.
It was Jeffrey.
He was unrecognizable. He wore a stained, oversized jacket, his hair was greasy and unkempt, and his face was sunken. He looked like a shadow of the arrogant man who had stood in my Buckhead parlor a month ago.
"Stand back, sir," my guard warned firmly.
"Madeline, please... just one minute," Jeffrey begged, falling to his knees on the cold concrete floor, tears streaming through the grime on his face. "I have nowhere else to go. My mother's apartment was seized for back taxes. We're living in a residential motel near the highway."
I looked down at him without a single trace of emotion. "You shouldn't be here, Jeffrey. You're violating the restraining order."
"I was stupid! I was weak!" he sobbed, reaching out toward my shoes before my guard stepped on his hand. "Cynthia manipulated me! She fed me lies about you! I love Liam, Madeline! Please, just let me see my son! Let me apologize to him!"
"You didn't love him when he was shivering under my dining table, Jeffrey," I said, my voice sharp and cold as a winter breeze. "You didn't love him when you let your mother treat him like an animal so your mistress's child could play with luxury toys."
"I will do anything!" he wailed, beating his fists against the concrete. "I'll work in the warehouse! I'll sweep the floors! Just give me a second chance!"
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"You had a son who loved you, a wife who trusted you, and a life everyone envied," I said, turning my back on him as the elevator doors slid open. "You threw it all away. Don't ever come near my child again."
As the elevator doors closed, his pitiful screams faded into the dark garage.
