Snow Illuminates the Coming Year

“She also said… I should grow up fast, run fast and not get caught.”

Run?

Caught by who?

My mind was a tangled mess.

Emily’s death, Linda’s abuse, the unknown “smart pills,” and now this warning—“don’t get caught”…

All the clues pointed to a terrifying truth.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was a number I hadn’t contacted in ten years.

Harry.

I went to the balcony and pressed the answer button.

“Millie,” came the tired, hoarse voice on the other end. “Something happened to Emily.”

“I know,” I said coldly. “I saw the news about her.”

“Her son… Arson… is missing. Did she… ever contact you?”

There was a hint of urgency and testing in his voice.

I let out a cold laugh.

“Harry, have you forgotten? We divorced ten years ago. Your love is dead, her son is missing—why would you think I know anything?”

“You ruined my life and now you want me to help you find your son? Do you even deserve it?”

I didn’t hold back, letting my words cut deep.

There was a long silence on the other end, only his heavy breathing remained.

“Millie… I’m sorry…”

“Save your cheap apologies,” I cut him off. “Don’t call me again.”

I hung up immediately.

Back in the living room, Arson was curled up on the sofa, asleep.

Even in his sleep, his brow was tightly furrowed and his small hands unconsciously clutched the edge of his shirt, full of unease.

I looked at the heart-shaped birthmark behind his ear and a part of me completely collapsed.

I grabbed a blanket and gently covered him.

Then, I called my family’s private doctor.

“Mr. Sharl, I have something here. I need you to test it and check what’s inside. Do it as fast as possible. No matter how late it is, tell me the results immediately.”

That night, I didn’t sleep at all.

I stayed by the sofa, watching Arson sleep, while the scenes from the hospital ten years ago replayed over and over in my mind.

The cold hospital room, Linda’s indifferent face and that light, careless death notice.

Everything I had believed so firmly in the past now seemed full of holes.

How many secrets did Emily really hide? Did she give my son back out of guilt, or… was there something else?

Early the next morning, I arranged to meet Vera at a café.

Vera was my former best friend. After my divorce, she was the only one who kept in touch with me.

For ten years, she had been faithfully reporting to me about Harry and Emily’s “happy life.”

“Millie, look at you—you’re still so beautiful, haven’t changed a bit,” Vera said, stirring her coffee with a concerned smile. “On the other hand… the last time I saw Emily, she looked so haggard. I don’t know how Harry is taking care of her.”

I picked up my coffee, hiding the coldness in my eyes. “Really? I thought she was doing fine.”

“Fine?” Vera scoffed, lowering her voice. “You don’t know Linda never approved of her. She thought Emily wasn’t from a good family, that she couldn’t be on the same level. If she hadn’t given birth to Arson, she wouldn’t even be allowed into the Grant Family.”

“But Linda… really dotes on her precious grandson, Arson.”

Vera’s voice was full of envy. “Every day she gets him nutritional supplements and ‘smart pills’ from abroad, personally making sure he takes them. She was afraid the only heir of the Grant Family might be neglected.”