He had worked his way upward one shift at a time. And when success finally came, he had not hoarded it. In memory of his late wife, he created the Parker Hope Foundation, using his fortune to fund school supplies, hot meals, and shelter beds for people with nowhere else to go.
That was why Lily’s voice had pierced him so deeply.
He looked at this thin girl with street dust in her hair and fear still trembling in her voice. Suddenly the city he claimed to love looked different. Not the skyline. Not the galas. The cold, hungry parts.
“What’s your name?” he asked softly.
“Lily,” she whispered, eyes fixed on the pavement.
“And you’ve been out here by yourself?”
She nodded.
Ethan shut his eyes for a moment, jaw tight. When he opened them again, they were wet. He crouched so they were at eye level.
“Listen to me,” he said, his voice steady now. “You didn’t just stop a wedding today. You saved my life.”
Lily swallowed hard. “I heard her,” she said quietly. “At night in the church.”
Ethan blinked. “Heard who?”
“Olivia. And two men. One sounded like a lawyer. They thought nobody was there.”
She hugged the broken phone to her chest and pushed on before fear could silence her.