The CEO hidden heir

Chapter five

Emergency

Nora

I slammed the truck door so hard the window rattled and sprinted across the school parking lot before the principal even finished her sentence on the phone.

“Miss Jonas, Ethan never came back from recess. We checked every hallway. He’s gone.”

My boots pounded the pavement. “What the hell do you mean gone?”

“We called the police. They’re searching the town.”

I hung up, ran back to my car, and jumped behind the wheel. The engine roared as I tore down Main Street. My hands shook on the steering wheel. Every shop, every alley, every face blurred past. I screamed his name out the open window.

“Ethan! Ethan Jonas!”

People stopped and stared at me thinking I had lost my mind. I didn’t care. My throat burned as I shouted. I swung into the square and nearly hit a parked car. Mrs. Lang waved both arms.

“Nora! Slow down!”

I skidded to a stop. “Have you seen him?”

“No, but the police just radioed. Someone spotted a little boy near the old warehouse on Harbor Road. The one they marked for demolition this morning.”

My stomach dropped. I floored it. The truck flew over the cracked road as I rode like a maniac. Harbor Road came into view, red and black Hale flags flapping in the wind. Dust rose from the site. Men in hard hats shouted near the fence.

I slammed the brakes, left the door open, and ran straight through the gap.

“Ethan!”

A worker grabbed my arm. “Lady, you can’t go in there. That place is coming down.”

I yanked free. “My son is inside!”

Another voice cut through the noise. “Nora!”

I spun around. Adrian stood ten feet away, jacket off, sleeves rolled, face white. We stared at each other for half a second.

Then both of us moved.

We hit the warehouse doors at the same time. The wood was half-rotted. Inside, dust floated in the weak light. Beams creaked overhead. I cupped my hands around my mouth.

“Ethan, baby, where are you?”

A small voice answered from the far end. “Mom? Don’t let them break it!”

My knees almost buckled. “I’m here! Stay still!”

Adrian pushed past me. “Kid, listen to me. Come toward the light. Now.”

We climbed over broken crates. My heart slammed so hard I tasted metal. Ethan’s dark curls appeared behind a stack of old planks. He held a drawing of the arched windows, the one he finished that morning.

“I heard the men say they were gonna knock it down,” he said, voice shaking. “You said these buildings matter. I couldn’t let them.”

I dropped to my knees and pulled him against me. His little body trembled. “You scared me half to death. Never do that again.”

Adrian crouched beside us. His voice came out rough. “Is he hurt?”

“He’s fine.” I stood, still holding Ethan. “We’re leaving.”

A loud crack split the air. Dust poured from the ceiling. One of the upper beams tilted.

Adrian’s eyes locked on the roof. “Move. Now.”

We ran. Ethan clung to my neck. There was another crack and the wood splintered. A section of the second floor dropped with a roar. Boards and nails exploded around us. Adrian shoved us forward.

“Faster!”

We burst through the doors into daylight just as the side wall groaned and leaned. Workers shouted and sirens wailed in the distance. I set Ethan down and checked every inch of him.

He was dusty, scared, but okay.

Adrian stood a few feet away, breathing hard, staring at the half-collapsed warehouse.

I turned on him. “You almost killed my son.”

“I didn’t know he was in there.”

“Your men did. They started the work anyway.”

Ethan tugged my sleeve. “Mom, is that the mean man from before?”

Adrian’s gaze snapped to the boy. Something shifted in his face. He stepped closer. “What’s your name?”

“Ethan,” my son said, chin up. “Ethan Jonas.”

Adrian looked at me, then back at Ethan. The dark curls. The stormy eyes that matched mine. The stubborn set of the jaw that looked too much like someone else.

His voice dropped to a whisper. “How old is he?”

I pulled Ethan behind me as Ethan proudly announced his age. “ I'm six.”

Adrian’s face was drained of color. He counted under his breath. Six years. The exact number of years since the night I left.

He stared at the child like the ground had opened under him. “Nora… is he….”

A second boom shook the site. The remaining wall of the warehouse gave way completely and the debris flew. Workers yelled to get back.

The ambulance doors stood open while the paramedic brushed the last of the dust from Ethan’s hair.

“He’s going to be okay,” she said gently. “Just keep an eye on him tonight.

I nodded, but I barely heard her. My hands refused to stop shaking. I almost lost him.

One stupid, impulsive decision, and I almost lost the only person who had ever truly been mine.

I pulled Ethan against my side and kissed the top of his head.

“You scared me.”

“I’m sorry, Mom,” he whispered. “I didn’t want them to destroy your building.”

My throat tightened. “Oh, baby…”

Before I could say anything else, I felt his eyes on me and I turned. Adrian was still standing where I’d left him, surrounded by dust and twisted steel, staring at Ethan like he’d seen a ghost.

Like he was trying to fit together pieces of a puzzle he never knew existed.

I knew that look. He was counting the years, trying to decide if the impossible was possible.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I couldn’t let him figure it out. “Come on, sweetheart.”

I guided Ethan toward the ambulance. Just as I reached for the door, I heard someone scream.

“Adrian!” I turned instinctively. A blonde woman came running across the demolition site, weaving through workers without slowing down.

It was Celeste. Before Adrian could even react, she threw herself into his arms.

“Oh my God.”

She wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him, hard. I didn't know my heart could break again…but it did.

I turned away, picked Ethan up, and ran away.