The Boy Wearing Her Missing Son's Necklace

Chapter 2: The Man Across the Street

The woman turned sharply.

Across the street, a man in a dark coat stood beside a parked car.

He was not looking at the traffic.

He was watching them.

The moment their eyes met, he got into the car and drove away.

The woman's name was Evelyn Carter.

For six years, she had searched for her son, Alex, after he disappeared from a hospital nursery. Police had called it an abduction. Her former husband had called it a tragedy. Her family had eventually told her to stop searching.

She never did.

Now a child wearing Alex's locket had appeared on the street.

But someone had expected her to find him.

Evelyn took the boy to a nearby café, ordered him soup, and sat across from him.

"What should I call you?" she asked.

"Ben."

"Who gave you that name?"

"The man at the shelter."

"What shelter?"

Ben stared at the table. "It wasn't really a shelter. There were locked doors. Lots of children."

Evelyn's hands tightened.

"How did you get out?"

"A woman helped me. She said I had to find the lady with red shoes."

Evelyn looked down at her heels.

She wore red shoes every year on Alex's birthday because they had been a gift from her mother on the day he was born.

No stranger should have known that.

Ben reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded paper.

"The woman told me to give you this after you opened the locket."

Evelyn unfolded it.

The message was short.

Alex is alive. This boy is the only one who knows where.

Evelyn looked up.

"Ben, where is my son?"

The child's face went pale.

Before he could answer, the café door opened.

Evelyn's former husband, Daniel, stepped inside.

He saw Ben.

Then he saw the locket.

His face changed.

"Evelyn," he whispered, "you need to get away from that child."