I slowly walked down the staircase, my legs shaking so violently I had to hold onto the handrail for support.
Standing in the entry hallway was a young woman in her late twenties, carrying a bag of groceries.
When she saw me, her jaw dropped, and she almost dropped her bag onto the floor.
“Who… who are you?” she stammered, speaking in clear, fluent English. “How did you get in here?”
“I’m Theresa,” I said, my voice barely audible. “I’m Marcus’s mother. I… I came from America to see my son.”
The young woman turned as pale as a sheet. She dropped her groceries onto a side table, looking around the living room as if she were waiting for someone else to step out of the shadows.
“Marcus isn’t here, Mrs. Theresa,” she whispered softly, her eyes filling with instant compassion and deep sadness. “He hasn’t lived here for three years.”
My world spun. “What do you mean? The address… the money… the boxes upstairs…”
“My name is Lin,” she said gently, taking my trembling hand and guiding me toward a chair. “I am Marcus’s personal assistant and nurse. He hired me years ago to maintain this house, manage his correspondence, and ensure you received your transfers every single year.”
“Nurse?” I breathed, the word piercing my chest like a blade. “Why would he need a nurse? Where is my son, Lin?”
Lin swallowed hard, tears finally spilling over her cheeks.
“Ten years ago, when Marcus married Li Mei, it wasn’t for love, Mrs. Theresa,” Lin revealed quietly. “Li Mei was a wealthy tech investor who offered to fund a revolutionary medical trial for a rare genetic blood disorder Marcus was diagnosed with when he was twenty-one.”
