CHAPTER 2: THE NAME THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST
The paper trembled in her hand.
It was an old hospital record—very old—with a red stamp on top:
“Patient: UNKNOWN CHILD – transferred from Mercer Medical Foundation”
She staggered back slightly.
“…Impossible,” she whispered.
Clara didn’t understand.
“Who is she, Mom?”
That question hit like a blade.
The woman looked at the homeless child. For the first time, her eyes were not angry—but terrified.
The child sat on the ground, clutching the bread, confused, as if she didn’t understand why the world had suddenly changed.
A black car stopped at the end of the street. The door opened.
A man stepped out.
He wore a dark suit, his gaze sharp and cold like steel.
When he saw the child on the pavement…
He froze completely.
“…Elena?”
The name escaped him like a buried memory returning to life.
Clara turned to look at the girl beside her.
And the homeless child suddenly trembled.
May you like
Not from the cold.
But from the name.
