Naomi’s heartbeat became uneven.
The name echoed inside the tiny room like something forbidden.
Gabriel.
Eleanor Baker stood frozen near the bed, trembling visibly as she stared at the unconscious man.
Years of grief.
Years of mourning.
Years of believing he was dead.
And now—
here he was.
Breathing.
Alive.
Naomi instinctively stepped closer to Gabriel’s bed.
Protective.
Confused.
Afraid.
“You… know him?” she asked carefully.
Eleanor slowly looked at her.
Tears streamed silently down her face now.
“Know him?” she whispered weakly.
Then she looked back at Gabriel again.
“He’s my grandson.”
Silence exploded through the room.
Naomi felt the ground disappear beneath her feet.
Grandson?
Her eyes immediately returned to Gabriel’s face.
Then to Leon.
Then back to Eleanor.
Nothing made sense anymore.
“You must be mistaken,” Naomi whispered quickly.
Almost desperately.
But Eleanor shook her head immediately.
“No.”
Her voice broke painfully.
“I would know him anywhere.”
She slowly approached the bed again, trembling fingers reaching toward Gabriel’s face.
The same face she thought she buried years ago.
The same boy she raised after his parents died.
The same grandson who vanished after that terrible night.
“Oh my God…” Eleanor whispered through tears.
“You’re alive…”
Naomi stood frozen beside Leon, unable to process what was happening.
Leon looked between the two women nervously.
“Mother?”
Naomi immediately held him closer protectively.
Eleanor slowly turned toward the little boy.
Her eyes widened again.
And suddenly—
another realization hit her.
Leon’s eyes.
Gabriel’s eyes.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore once she truly looked.
Her hand covered her mouth instantly.
“This child…”
Naomi’s chest tightened.
“He’s Gabriel’s son.”
Eleanor nearly collapsed.
Years.
She had spent years grieving alone in a...