📖 CHAPTER 2: THE GHOST IN THE ELEVATOR
The heavy golden doors of the private elevator slid open. The penthouse guests held their breath, expecting a ghost. Instead, two burly men in black suits pushed a hospital gurney into the ballroom.
Lying on it was a woman, frail, hooked up to a portable oxygen tank, but her eyes—piercing and familiar—were wide open. It was Elena. She was alive, but she was dying.
Julian fell to his knees, not because his legs failed him, but because his soul did. “Elena… How? I saw the dental records. I buried you!”
Elena smiled weakly, her voice raspy through the oxygen mask. “You buried your mistress, Julian. The one you were in the car with when it crashed. Your corrupt lawyers switched our identities so your 'wholesome billionaire' image wouldn't be ruined by a cheating scandal. They told the world your loyal wife died, and they threw me into a black-site asylum to rot so I could never speak the truth.”
The crowd gasped. The phones that were filming the "miracle" were now live-streaming a massive corporate crime. Julian’s face drained of color. He looked at the boy, then at Elena. “If you were locked away… who is this boy? How did he heal me?”
“This is Leo. Your son,” Elena wept. “He was born in that asylum. He inherited the gift from my side of the family—the touch of life. I kept him hidden until he was old enough to escape. I didn't send him to heal you out of love, Julian. I sent him to heal you so you could stand on your own two feet when the police drag you away.”
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Suddenly, the sirens wailed from the streets below. Flashing red and blue lights reflected off the glass windows.
Julian’s brother, Marcus Vance—the co-CEO of Vance International—stepped out from the crowd, his face twisted in panic. He pulled a concealed pistol from his jacket. “This ends now! This kid is a freak, and that woman is dead!” Marcus aimed the gun straight at the little boy.
