I Pretended to Be Homeless at the Department Store I Owned to Find My Heir – Then Someone Suddenly Grabbed Me from Behind

I nodded.

“How have you been?” I asked her. “Since that night in the snow?”

She stared down into her tea.

“We got a room at a shelter with what you gave us,” she said.

“Then I found a job cleaning. Then another waiting tables. I scraped by.

We found a small place. It wasn’t much, but it was ours.”

She smiled at Tommy.

“He started school,” she said. “He loves math.

Hates bullies.”

“Bullies suck,” Tommy said. “Sorry. But they do.”

“They do,” I agreed.

Elena sighed.

“The building sold last year,” she said.

“New owner doubled the rent. I couldn’t keep up. We bounced between rooms, friends’ couches.

Now we’re in a motel by the highway. I’m working, but one bad week and…” She trailed off.

Her eyes were tired in a way that sleep couldn’t fix.

Tommy looked at me.

“I always told Mom about you,” he said. “About how you brought us in and gave us soup and blankets.

I told her we’d meet you again.”

Elena gave a shaky laugh.

“I said he was being dramatic,” she admitted. “Guess I was wrong.”

I looked at him.

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Tommy?” I asked.

He didn’t hesitate.

“I want to help people like us,” he said. “People who get thrown out.

Or sleep in their car. Or don’t have coats when it’s cold.”

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