Save A Son, Win A Billionaire Husband

1

Faith

My feet felt like they were on fire. I pulled my thin jacket tighter around my shoulders, trying to shield myself from the bitter autumn wind. The clock on my phone said 10:45 PM. Another twelve-hour shift was finally over, and all I had to show for it was thirty-two dollars in tips and a body that throbbed with exhaustion.

I was twenty-four years old, but tonight I felt like I was eighty.

I hurried down the dimly lit sidewalk toward the bus stop, my mind racing through a mental checklist of nightmare numbers. Rent was due in three days. My landlord, Mr. Henderson, had already slipped a final warning under my door on Monday. If I couldn’t come up with the rest of this month’s rent by Friday, my little sister Maya and I would be thrown out onto the street.

And then there were Maya’s medical bills. The hospital called every morning like clockwork. Every day, the woman on the phone used the same polite tone to remind me that my sister's treatments were falling behind schedule due to unpaid balances.

Just keep moving, I told myself, wiping a cold tear from my cheek before it could freeze. If you catch the eleven o'clock bus, you can get two hours of sleep before your morning shift.

I picked up my pace, clutching my canvas bag tightly against my chest. The bus stop was just across Fifth Street, a busy four-lane road where cars always drove much too fast.

That was when I saw him.

A tiny boy was standing all by himself near the edge of the sidewalk. He couldn't have been more than five years old. He wore a navy-blue designer coat that was a little too big for his small frame, making him look tiny and fragile under the harsh yellow glow of the streetlights.

I slowed down, looking around the empty sidewalk. There was no mother holding his hand. No father standing nearby looking at his phone. No babysitter frantically calling his name. He was completely alone.

"Hey, buddy?" I called out softly, stepping toward him. "Are you okay? Where are your parents?"

The boy didn't answer. He didn't even turn his head. He just stood there at the edge of the curb, staring blankly at the ground. In his small hands, he was holding a bright red toy car.

Suddenly, the toy slipped out of his tiny fingers.

It bounced off the concrete curb and rolled straight into the middle of the dark road.

Without hesitation, the little boy stepped right off the sidewalk and followed it into traffic.

My blood turned to ice. "Wait! Stop!" I screamed.

He didn't react to my voice at all. It was as if he couldn't even hear me. He just kept walking slowly, his eyes locked onto the toy car resting in the center lane.

Then I heard it—the terrifying roar of an engine.

A massive black SUV had just rounded the corner. It was speeding down Fifth Street, heading directly toward the boy. The driver clearly hadn't seen the small child standing in the dark road.

Bright white headlights swept across the pavement, illuminating the boy's tiny back.

The SUV was fifty feet away. Then thirty.

The driver suddenly caught sight of the child and slammed on the brakes. The tires squealed loudly, sending the smell of burning rubber into the air, but the heavy vehicle was moving way too fast. It wasn't going to stop in time.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I didn't think. I didn't calculate the danger. I didn't stop to consider my own life.

I dropped my bag and ran.

My legs moved faster than I ever knew they could. The world around me turned into a terrifying blur of flashing lights and screeching metal.

I reached the boy just as the front bumper of the heavy SUV came crashing down on us.

With every ounce of strength left in my body, I grabbed his small shoulders and shoved him hard toward the grass on the side of the road.

His tiny body tumbled safely onto the lawn.

And then, the SUV hit me.

A tremendous, violent force slammed straight into my side. The impact lifted me off my feet, tearing the air right out of my lungs. Time seemed to slow down into awful, agonizing seconds. I felt myself flying through the air before slamming heavily onto the cold, hard asphalt.

Crack.

A terrible pain erupted in my chest and shoulder. I slid several feet across the rough street, my head striking the concrete curb with a sickening thud.

Darkness flashed across my eyes for a moment. When the light returned, my vision was blurry, swimming with bright red and black spots.

I lay flat on my back, staring up at the dark, starless sky. I couldn't breathe. My ribs felt crushed, and a sharp, burning heat spread throughout my entire body. Warm, sticky liquid began pooling beneath the back of my head, trickling down my cold cheek.

Maya... was my only thought through the agonizing fog. Oh God, Maya... who is going to take care of you if I die?

I tried to lift my arm, but my body refused to obey. I couldn't move. I couldn't even call for help.

Through the heavy haze of pain, I heard the soft sound of small shoes scraping against the pavement.

The little boy was crawling toward me.

His knees were scraped, and his navy coat was covered in dirt, but he was completely unharmed. His eyes were wide with terror, brimming with big, shining tears.

He reached out a tiny, trembling hand and grabbed my blood-stained fingers. He squeezed them as hard as his small grip could manage.

"Are... are you okay, little guy?" I managed to whisper. My voice sounded weak, broken, and far away.

He didn't answer. He just held onto my hand, his bottom lip trembling uncontrollably as he stared at my face.

Suddenly, the quiet night was shattered by the screech of heavy tires.

Three sleek, dark luxury sedans pulled up to the curb, cutting off the entire street. Car doors slammed open almost simultaneously, and several men in sharp black suits rushed out into the night.

"Search the area! Find him!" a loud voice shouted in a panic.

Then, a fifth man stepped out from the back of the middle vehicle.

Even through my ruined, blurry vision, he was impossible to miss.

He was broad-shouldered and tall, carrying a presence that instantly filled the entire street. He wore a tailored dark suit that screamed unimaginable wealth, but his hair was messy, and his crisp white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar. His handsome face was deadly pale, twisted in absolute horror.

"Noah!" the man roared, his deep voice cracking with pure desperation. "Noah!"

One of the bodyguards pointed frantically toward the curb. "Mr. Sutton! Over there! By the woman!"

The tall man sprinted toward us. He dropped straight to his knees on the wet, dirty pavement, completely ignoring the fact that he was ruining his expensive suit.

"Noah!" Mr. Sutton gasped, reaching out with shaking hands to grab the child. "God, Noah... you ran off... I thought..."

He tried to pull his son into his arms, but the little boy refused to let go of me. He tightened his grip on my bloody fingers, anchoring himself to my side like I was his only lifeline in the world.

"Sir! We need an ambulance right now!" one of the bodyguards barked into a phone nearby. "She took the hit for him!"

Mr. Sutton finally looked down at me.

His sharp, dark eyes locked onto mine. For a fraction of a second, I saw a flash of intense shock, followed by a heavy, profound pain in his gaze.

"Stay still," he said to me, his deep voice surprisingly gentle despite the panic around us. "Don't try to move. The ambulance is on its way."

My vision was shrinking fast. The edges of the world were turning black, like ink spreading across paper. The awful pain in my body began to dull, replaced by a deep, numbing coldness.

I knew I was passing out. My eyes began to flutter closed.

I looked up at the tiny boy one last time. He leaned down over me, his hot tears dripping down onto my blood-stained cheek.

He squeezed my fingers with all the strength in his small body.

Then, he opened his mouth.

A soft, raspy sound came from the back of his throat.

Mr. Sutton froze instantly. He stopped breathing altogether. The bodyguards around us went completely silent, as if someone had pressed a pause button on the entire world.

The silent little boy looked down at my blood-covered face, his eyes full of tears, and whispered a single, clear word.

"Mommy..."

Mr. Sutton gasped, his hands trembling violently. "Noah...?"

I didn't understand why the tall man looked so shocked. My eyelids grew heavier than lead. The dark world finally pulled me under, and everything went completely black.