Serena pressed her forehead against her son’s soft curls and brushed her lips over the crown of his head. “I’m so sorry, baby.” Her voice trembled.

The taxi hummed in slow, crawling traffic. Rain spattered against the window. The driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “Ma’am, is everything all right?”

Tears shone in Serena’s eyes. She shook her head, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m… a hot mess.”

He bit back a chuckle and tapped the wheel with one finger. “Name’s Ade. Since we’re going nowhere fast, feel free to unburden yourself.”

Serena closed her eyes and inhaled. The sour smell of city air mixed with baby powder in the cab. “I love him, but these thoughts keep attacking me…” She exhaled, watching a droplet of rain race down the glass. “He was engaged—wedding plans, rings, the whole thing—then he found me after I vanished. I wonder… am I being selfish? To him, I must have died… or he thinks I just ran off. But I never left him. I’ve always loved him… even now.”

Ade steered with calm confidence. “Why would he think you left?”

Serena’s hand tightened around her son’s tiny fist. “Because I was kidnapped for over a year. They drugged me so often I forgot my own child. They told me I was promised to someone else. By the time I escaped, I’d lost all memory of him.” She gently rubbed the boy’s back. “My husband—he’s a good man. He deserves truth, but is it fair I ruined his life? And… the man who held me captive… I hate him, yet part of me wonders if, had I stayed one more month, I never would’ve left with my rescuer. Does that make me awful?”

“No,” Ade said firmly. “You’re a victim of greed and cruelty, not someone who chose this. Listen—I know a couple who might help. My aunt and uncle, Amara and Dr. Carl Washington. Retired nurse and holistic healer. They’ve set up a private practice in their flat. Let me take you there.”

Serena nodded, hope flickering in her expression. Ade turned off the main road onto a narrow side street. He parked under a flickering streetlamp in front of a brick building crowned with ivy. Together they climbed three flights of stairs, and Ade punched in 3-9-2-5. The heavy door clicked open.

Amara, silver curls pinned back with a carved wood comb, swung the door wide before they’d knocked. She swept Serena into a warm embrace that fluttered a half-forgotten memory of a mother’s touch across Serena’s heart—only to have it slip away the next instant.

“Aunty,” Ade called gently, stepping into the small entryway. “This is Serena Rose.”

“Welcome, my dear,” Amara said, guiding Serena by the hand into a cozy sitting room stacked with potted herbs and bottled tinctures. “You’re safe here.”

Ade rested a steadying hand on Serena’s shoulder. “I wish I could stay, but I’m due back on the road. Promise me you’ll let your husband speak his heart.”

Serena lowered her gaze. “Thank you, Ade. I will never forget your kindness.”

He smiled, squeezed her shoulder, then slipped out into the hallway. “Take care of each other.” The door closed softly behind him.

 

A tall man in wire-rimmed glasses emerged from a back room. His eyes, clear and assessing, drifted over Serena—settling on the faint pallor beneath her skin. He tilted his head, as if noting the steady tick of a hidden clock.

Meanwhile, in the driver’s seat, Ade glanced down at his phone. A breaking news alert: American CEO’s wife and child missing, last seen at the Rose Luxe Hotel—Name: Serena Rose. He slipped the device into his back pocket.

“My job was to bring her here,” he murmured to the empty cab. “Your job, Mr. Rose, is to find her.”