Chapter 3Breaking The Billionaires Destined Script

The next morning, Dominic still hadn't called.

I couldn't figure out the game he was playing. Milo was six; he couldn't have found my apartment on his own without help. Had Dominic sent him?

I woke Milo up and hailed a cab to take him to his kindergarten. It was across the city, an hour's ride. Before we got out, he gripped my hand, making me swear on my life that I’d be there to pick him up.

As we approached the school gates, his eyes suddenly lit up. He saw a sleek black car idling at the curb.

Milo pulled me along, but as we got closer to the car, he slowed his pace. He intentionally stepped in front of a chubby little boy who had just stepped out of a luxury SUV.

With a voice loud enough for every parent on the sidewalk to hear, Milo chirped, "Mom, you’re definitely coming to get me after school, right?"

It was the first time he’d called me "Mom."

The chubby kid stared, eyes wide. "You have a mom? Why hasn't she ever dropped you off before?"

Milo lifted his chin, his expression pure Thorne arrogance. "My mom is very busy. She runs a massive company. She took a special day off just to be with me today."

He emphasized the word "special" with a bite.

He led me toward the door like a victorious little general. But just before he went inside, he turned back, his composure crumbling for a split second. "...You'll be here?"

When I didn't answer immediately, panic flared in his eyes. "You promised in the car! Adults aren't allowed to lie to kids!"

I knelt down, straightening his collar, and ruffled his soft hair. "I’ll be here. I promise."

He tried to hide his grin, failing miserably. "Fine. I guess I can wait for a little while."

I watched him disappear inside, but a nagging feeling tugged at my gut. I went to the front office and asked to speak with his teacher.

The teacher was hesitant at first, but then she sighed, leaning over her desk. "Look, I know the Thorne family is... complicated. But I have to say something."

"No matter how busy parents are, the child should come first. Milo has been here for three years, and not once—not once—has anyone come to a parent-teacher conference. The other kids tease him. They say he’s an orphan. It’s affecting him, Ms. Thorne."

Nobody had ever come?

Even if Dominic hated the boy, wouldn't he send an assistant? A nanny?

I felt a surge of rage. For the first time, I wondered if giving up custody had been the right thing. I might have been poor, but I would have given him everything. He was a billionaire's son, but emotionally, he was a beggar.

I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I knew by heart. I needed to have it out with Dominic. If he didn't want the boy, I’d take him. I wasn't the broken girl I was six years ago. I could raise him.

As the phone started to ring, a familiar melody sounded right behind me.

My spine turned to ice.

I turned around. Standing next to a black Bentley was a tall, imposing figure.

Six years hadn't changed him much. He looked harder, colder, his presence more suffocating than I remembered. He was holding his vibrating phone, his eyes narrowed as he stared at me.

"You’ve been hiding for a long time," he said, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Are you finally ready to show your face?"