Chapter 2

Maxwell's words were such a shock to Sophia that her entire body spasmed. Her mind went blank.

Joshua had been healthy the whole time, ever since he was born. Why would he suddenly be suffering from leukemia?

She sat stiffly in front of Maxwell, her limbs cold. The world was spinning around her. It felt as though the sky had come crashing down.

After a while, Maxwell called to her, bringing her back to reality. She sprang to her feet and immediately transferred Joshua to the Central Women & Children's Hospital, too scared to waste even a single second.

She'd given birth to Joshua at that hospital, and she knew several of the doctors there, including Christa, who worked there as an obstetrician.

Along the way, Phillip called Sophia again. She was too frazzled to entertain him, so she blocked both his number and WhatsApp account.

When they arrived at the hospital, Christa was standing at the entrance waiting for her. The two had already talked on WhatsApp about the situation.

As soon as Christa saw Sophia, she became a little teary. Giving Sophia a comforting hug, she said, "Don't panic just yet. It might be a mistake. Let's wait until the tests are done."

Sophia had told no one but Christa about the situation, not even her parents. Feeling a little better after Christa's attempt to console her, she pulled herself together again.

"Aunt Chrissy! You're not working today?" Joshua looked up at Christa and asked curiously.

Christa, who was also Joshua's godmother, felt her heart clench as she stroked his head. "I'm working, but I missed you so much, so I decided to come and see you."

"I've missed you, too, Aunt Chrissy," Joshua replied sweetly.

Christa's department was quite busy. After helping them with the hospitalization procedure, she had to return to work.

Sophia took Joshua to his hospital room, but she hadn't even settled him in yet before she received a call from her family.

"Hey, Mom."

"Soph, what's going on with Josh? Phillip called us. He said that Josh was taken to the hospital last night, and he hasn't received any update about Josh's condition since. You even blocked his number. Did you two get into a fight?" Francine Jones, Sophia's mother, asked worriedly.

Sophia grew angry at that. Mindful of Joshua, she left the hospital room with her phone, keeping her voice down as she snarled, "That bastard Phillip had the nerve to call you guys and complain about me?"

Joshua sat on the bed for a while, looking around the room. Once he got bored, he slid off the bed and went looking for Sophia.

"Mommy…" he called out as he wandered all over the hospital floor without seeing any sign of Sophia.

He wanted to head back to his hospital room, but he didn't know which way to go. Relying on his instincts, he picked one at random—only to end up getting lost.

Feeling scared, Joshua started mumbling "Mommy" while sobbing.

At the end of the corridor, the door to a deluxe hospital room opened. Two men and a doctor stepped out.

"Mr. Carter, Mrs. Carter Senior's condition is primarily caused by her overwhelming grief. Understandably, she is heartbroken over the death of your younger brother. It is always heart-wrenching for parents to watch their child pass on before them," the doctor, Peter Aldridge, said.

He was speaking to Marcus Carter, the oldest son of the Carter family.

Marcus' expression was solemn. His black bespoke suit added to his cold, imposing demeanor, making him seem even more unapproachable. He gave off an air of superiority that intimidated others even from a distance.

"I understand. All the same, I hope the team at the hospital can do their best to help her. I'll come by to spend more time with her as well," Marcus said, his voice low and his expression sorrowful.

The Carters, a prominent and distinguished family in the city of Riverney, just had a death in the family.

Lucas Carter, the family's second son, was a fire chief. Ten days ago, during a firefighting operation led by Lucas, an explosion had occurred at the site of the fire. Lucas had sacrificed his life to save one of his fellow firefighters.

When the tragic news was delivered to them, the entire Carter family was plunged into deep sorrow.

And now, right after the funeral, Theresa Fuller, Marcus and Lucas' mother, had to be hospitalized due to her crushing grief.

Having suffered two massive blows in quick succession, even the strong-willed and extremely rational Marcus had a hard time keeping his grief and exhaustion hidden.

When the three men rounded a corner, Peter immediately spotted a young boy—Joshua—standing in the corridor, crying.

"Whose child is that?" he wondered. "What's he doing here alone?"

After walking up to Joshua, he crouched down and asked, "Hey there, little guy. Where are your parents?"

Lips trembling, Joshua said in a muffled voice, "I came out to look for Mommy…"

Marcus couldn't be bothered to involve himself in this. He was just about to excuse himself and leave when his assistant, Royce Harmond, exclaimed, "Mr. Carter, that little boy… looks a lot like you!"

Hearing that, Marcus, who'd already walked past Joshua, turned his head around and looked at Joshua's face. Within seconds, his gaze sharpened.

Peter noticed the resemblance as well. After glancing back and forth between Joshua and Marcus, he exclaimed, "It's true! His features bear a striking resemblance to yours, Mr. Carter!"

Marcus withdrew his gaze before saying coldly, "If you're not going to use your eyes properly, you should consider donating them to someone who needs them."

"But it's not like I'm seeing things," Peter mumbled. "He does look a lot like you. It's almost as if he's your—"

Royce knew what Peter was about to say, so he immediately cleared his throat and cut Peter off, saying, "Don't be silly, Dr. Aldridge. Mr. Carter has always kept his distance from women. He's still single right now."

Catching on, Peter hurriedly offered an apologetic smile. "So sorry about that, Mr. Carter. It looks like I was mistaken after all."

Joshua watched as the three men who gathered around him said things he couldn't understand. He stopped crying and looked up at them curiously.

Even though it was Peter who was crouched in front of him, for some reason, he looked straight at Marcus and asked politely, "Hi there, mister. Can you lend me your phone? I want to call my mommy."

Marcus, who'd been just about to leave, turned around and looked at Joshua again.

"Here! You can use my phone," Peter quickly offered.

After pulling his phone out and giving it to Joshua, he got up and said courteously, "I'm sure you're a busy man, Mr. Carter. I won't take up any more of your time."

"Hmph! He's so stingy," Joshua muttered while typing in Sophia's number.

Although his voice wasn't particularly loud, it was just audible enough for the three men to overhear him.

All of their expressions changed, with Royce looking the most horrified. He carefully shot a look at Marcus.

However, Marcus simply glanced at Joshua before heading toward the elevator, his expression neutral.

Royce swiftly followed him. But as they waited for the elevator, he kept thinking about Joshua and couldn't resist remarking, "You know, Mr. Carter, it would've been a good thing if that boy did turn out to be your son. Mrs. Carter Senior would definitely have a speedy recovery if she found out she had a grandson."

The grief in Marcus' eyes intensified when he heard that. Theresa's biggest sorrow was that Lucas had died in the line of duty without leaving any children behind.

The elevator doors opened. Royce stuck his hand out to hold the doors open and let Marcus enter first, only to be caught off guard by the woman who came sprinting out of the elevator.

"Josh! Josh?"