CHAPTER 1 — "Daddy... Please Don't Leave Me Again."
The departure hall buzzed with hurried footsteps, rolling suitcases, and endless boarding announcements. No one paid attention to the little girl weaving through the crowd—until she suddenly threw herself into the arms of a sharply dressed businessman.
"Daddy!"
Every head turned.
The man stiffened. His expensive briefcase slipped from his hand as the little girl's tiny arms wrapped tightly around his waist. She couldn't have been older than six. Her floral dress was slightly wrinkled, and her trembling hands clung to him as if letting go meant losing everything.
"I found you..." she whispered through tears. "Mommy said you'd come back this time."
The man slowly looked down at her.
His face turned pale.
"I... I think you've got the wrong person," he said quietly, trying to pull away.
The little girl's smile disappeared instantly.
"No..." she cried, shaking her head. "You promised you'd never leave me again."
People nearby stopped walking.
A woman lowered her phone.
An elderly traveler quietly wiped his glasses.
The businessman glanced nervously around the terminal. Several coworkers stood only a few feet away, staring at him with confused expressions. His perfect image—the successful executive, the devoted fiancé, the future CEO—was beginning to crack.
He forced a polite smile.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I don't know you."
The little girl's eyes filled with fresh tears.
She slowly reached into the pocket of her tiny backpack.
"I kept it... just like Mommy told me."
She pulled out an old photograph.
Half of the picture had been torn away, but the man in the remaining half looked exactly like the businessman standing before her.
The color drained from his face.
His heartbeat thundered.
How could that picture still exist?
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Because ten years ago...
He had personally burned every copy.
