Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO KEPT RUNNING
The next morning Ethan asked Human Resources for Elena's employee file.
There was almost nothing inside.
No family listed.
No emergency contact.
A rented apartment.
Minimum wage.
Perfect attendance.
Twelve years without taking a vacation.
Curious, Ethan quietly followed her after work.
She boarded an old city bus instead of accepting expensive transportation offered by the company.
She lived in a tiny apartment with peeling paint and broken furniture.
That evening Ethan saw something that shattered him.
Elena opened a dusty wooden box.
Inside were dozens of newspaper clippings about the orphanage fire.
Old missing-child posters.
A tiny toy car with melted wheels.
And one faded photograph.
A smiling six-year-old boy.
The edges had been worn smooth from years of being held.
Elena gently touched the picture.
"I hope you're alive," she whispered.
"I've never stopped waiting."
Outside the window, Ethan covered his mouth to stop himself from crying.
He recognized the toy.
He recognized the photograph.
The boy was him.
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For twenty years...
She had never stopped loving him.
