The millionaire returns home and is shocked to find his new black maid and only son in the kitchen. The door creaked open before Grant Ellison even stepped inside. His polished shoes touched the tiles of his private foyer and the wheels of his sleek black suitcase trailed behind him with a soft rattle.

He looked every bit the man who’d closed million-dollar deals across Europe, tailored white suit, violet dress shirt, designer watch, but nothing about him looked prepared for what he was about to see. He wasn’t supposed to be back until Friday. A quiet smile tugged at his lips as he reached down and gently touched the small teddy bear tied to the suitcase handle, Lucas’s favorite.

He hadn’t seen his son in over four weeks. This was going to be a surprise, the kind that would light up those wide blue eyes and make up for lost time. He imagined Lucas charging into his arms, giggling.

Instead, as he stepped into the kitchen doorway, his heart froze. There at the sink stood a woman he didn’t immediately recognize, a black woman wearing a gray apron tied around her waist, a dark short-sleeved top beneath. Her arms were braced against the edge of the counter, her head lowered, but her shoulders trembled.

She was crying, not softly, not discreetly, the kind of quiet breakdown that shook a person to the bone and wrapped tightly around her back, legs locked around her waist, arms clinging like vines, was Lucas, his son, his only son. The boy’s face was red from crying, buried in the woman’s shoulder as if she were the only safe place left in the world. He wasn’t just hugging her, he was holding on for dear life.

Grant stepped forward, stunned. Lucas? Neither of them turned. His voice came out sharper now.

Lucas! That made the woman jump, her head snapped around, revealing tear-streaked cheeks, wide eyes full of alarm. She looked at Grant as if she’d been caught stealing from a church. Lucas finally turned his face, wet with tears, lips quivering and wailed, No! Don’t take her! The words hit Grant like a brick.

I’m sorry, sir, the woman stammered, voice tight and hoarse. He won’t let go. Grant took another step inside…