CHAPTER 1 — The Girl Who Had The Same Face
New York never stopped moving.
Yellow taxis rushed through Manhattan.
Businessmen stared at their phones.
Tourists filled the sidewalks.
Nobody noticed the little homeless girl curled against the cold brick wall beneath an expensive jewelry store.
She looked no older than five.
Her blonde hair was tangled.
Her tiny coat was ripped at the sleeves.
She hugged her stomach, trying to ignore the hunger that had become part of everyday life.
Thousands of people walked past her.
Nobody stopped.
Until one little girl did.
"Daddy!"
A shopping bag crashed onto the sidewalk.
Fruit rolled into the street.
Emma slipped free from her father's hand and sprinted through the crowd before anyone could stop her.
Richard Parker chased after her.
"Emma! Stop!"
But Emma wasn't running into danger.
She was running toward the lonely little girl.
Without saying a word, Emma opened her lunch bag.
She carefully handed over her sandwich.
"You look hungry."
The homeless child blinked slowly.
She smiled for the first time in days.
Then she looked up.
Silence spread across the sidewalk.
People froze.
The two little girls had exactly the same face.
The same blue eyes.
The same tiny nose.
The same blonde curls.
Even strangers felt chills.
Someone whispered,
"They're twins..."
Richard finally reached them.
The moment he saw the homeless girl...
his entire body stopped.
His knees nearly gave out.
His breathing disappeared.
"No..."
Emma looked at him.
"Daddy... why does she look exactly like me?"
The homeless girl slowly lifted her shaking arm.
Around her wrist was an old hospital identification bracelet.
Faded.
Broken.
But still readable.
Baby Girl Parker.
Date of Birth...
Exactly Emma's birthday.
Richard collapsed onto his knees.
His hands shook uncontrollably.
"They told me..."
"They told me only one baby survived."
The homeless girl stared directly into his eyes.
Her voice was barely louder than a whisper.
"If you're really my daddy..."
"...why did you leave me here?"
Hundreds of people stood speechless.
Phones began recording.
Richard opened his mouth...
But another voice interrupted.
Cold.
Calm.
Familiar.
"Because I made sure he believed you were dead."
Richard slowly turned around.
His blood ran cold.
Standing across the sidewalk...
wearing an elegant white coat...
was the woman he hadn't seen in five years.
The nurse who delivered his daughters.
May you like
And she was smiling.
TO BE CONTINUED...
