She didn’t look back as she walked away.

Meanwhile, Colleen had already helped Joy back onto her feet and was brushing the dirt from her clothes.

Hadley leaned down and gently lifted Joy into her arms. “It’s okay now. No more crying.” She pressed a tender kiss to Joy’s damp cheek. “How about we get a new ice cream, hmm?”

Instead of answering, Joy let out small, broken sobs between breaths. Her tiny arms clung tightly around Hadley’s neck as her head slumped against her shoulder. She glanced back at Eric with a helpless, sorrowful look while they moved farther away.

Eric remained frozen, still trying to process what had just happened. His fingers brushed the side of his face where the slap had landed. The sting was faint—Hadley was a frail woman, and she hadn’t struck him with much force.

Still, none of it made sense to him.

Turning slightly, Eric called out, “Phillips.”

“Yes, Mr. Scott?”

“Did I know her from before?” Eric’s voice dropped, laced with something between doubt and curiosity.

When Eric regained consciousness but lost his memories, Ferris had already given him a rundown of his history and the people who had once been close to him. He learned that he had been taken by human traffickers as a child and torn away from his real family for more than ten years.

However, fate hadn’t been entirely cruel. The Flynn family had taken him in during that lost time. Among them, Phillips stood out. He wasn’t just a companion from childhood—he had become Eric’s most reliable confidant.

Because of that, Eric believed Phillips would have the clearest understanding of his personal history.

Just moments earlier, Phillips had allowed himself to hope. Maybe, just maybe, Eric and Hadley could find common ground again. But the slap from Hadley, delivered with fury and eyes full of contempt, shattered that illusion.

He paused, visibly unsure, and then gave a slight shake of his head. “I don’t know.”

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That response led Eric to conclude she must have been a mere stranger mistaking him for someone else. If she had truly mattered in the past, Phillips would have remembered her, right? Now, all Eric could do was wonder why he had been struck without warning. To him, it made absolutely no sense.

Recalling the way that woman had yelled at him, Eric let out a quiet laugh. It was clear to him now—both mother and daughter had gotten the wrong guy.

“Let’s go.”

“Right away.”

While continuing down the path, Eric lifted his hand and ran his fingers over the same cheek. A thought lingered in his mind. Whoever the man they believed him to be was, he must have looked a lot like him for the confusion to run that deep.

In the parking lot, Hadley cradled Joy protectively as they settled into the car. Colleen pulled away from Evergrand Mall, navigating through the evening traffic.

.

.

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