Chapter 2 - The Girl Who Slept on the FloorThe autumn wind whipped through the iron cemetery gates, but Warren Hail felt nothing. He remained on his knees in the damp grass, his tailored black coat stained with mud, staring up at a seven-year-old girl whose words had just dismantled his entire universe.
“No one. I live by myself now.”
The sentence echoed in his mind, refusing to settle. Warren rose slowly, his joints stiff, his chest still heaving from the raw, uncontained grief that had just poured out of him. He looked down at Jenna Marsh. Up close, beneath the fading afternoon light, the truth of her existence hit him with terrifying clarity.
The pale, hollow cheeks. The bruised circles beneath her eyes. The way she instinctively clutched the frayed straps of her oversized backpack as if it held every possession she owned in the world.
“What do you mean, you live by yourself?” Warren demanded, his billionaire’s authority returning, though softened by sudden, fierce protection. “Where are your parents, Jenna?”
Jenna looked down at her scuffed sneakers, her jaw tightening. “My mom got sick six months ago. She went to the hospital and never came back. The social workers wanted to send me to a home across the state, but... I ran away. I live in the empty apartment above the bakery on 4th Street. The back door is unlocked if you know how to turn the knob just right.”
Warren’s breath caught in his throat.
An orphaned child, living alone in a condemned apartment, surviving on scraps, while he—Warren Hail, a man with billions of dollars, empty mansions, and a private jet—sat in a glass penthouse mourning a son he had neglected.
“You’re coming with me,” Warren said, his voice absolute.
Jenna stepped back, her eyes flashing with defensive pride. “I don't need charity! I take care of myself! Tyson told me you’re a builder—well, I’m a survivor. I don't need a savior.”
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Before she could turn and run, Warren dropped gently to one knee, looking straight into her fierce brown eyes.
“You’re not charity, Jenna,” Warren said, his voice thick with emotion. “You’re Tyson’s friend. And right now... I think you’re the only family I have left.”
