They stopped before a small house with peeling paint and sagging steps. Jonathan’s hands trembled on the steering wheel.
The front door flew open.
There she was.
Sophia Bennett.
Thinner. Exhausted. Hands rough from years of work. But unmistakably her.
“Lucas! Where have you—”
She froze when she saw the car. When she saw Jonathan stepping out.
“No,” she whispered, pulling Lucas behind her. “Stay away from my son.”
The fury in her voice stunned him.
“Sophia, please. They told me you were dead.”
“They told you?” she shot back. “And you believed them?”
“They said you left. That you had another man. Then an accident.”
Her face shifted from anger to confusion.
“I never left you for anyone.”
“Mom?” Lucas looked between them.
“Go inside,” Sophia ordered softly.
When the door shut behind him, she faced Jonathan again.
“Your mother paid me to disappear,” she said flatly. “She threatened my family. Said you knew. Said you signed the papers.”
Jonathan felt sick.
“I never signed anything.”
“She showed me your signature.”
“It was forged.”
They stared at each other, both shaking under the weight of ten stolen years.
“Leave,” she said finally. “I rebuilt our life without you.”
She closed the door.