Mission: From Divorcee to Millionaire

The phone on the coffee table abruptly rang. Everett glanced over, saw the caller ID, and, with a sigh, picked it up, pressing the answer button. Little Mateo, noticing this, swallowed the words he was about to say.

On the other end, the background music was as loud as ever, making Everett frown. Then came Jaime's laid-back voice.

""What's

up?"

Everett looked at the little guy in front of him and smirked, "Babysitting."

The word seemed so out of place for him that Jaime almost wondered if he'd had too much to drink. But then he remembered he hadn't touched a drop today.

He'd just gotten a new stash of good wine, thinking it'd be more fun to enjoy it with friends and maybe even coax a few bucks out of his buddy's wallet. After all, with nothing but loads of cold, hard cash to keep him company, a little spending wouldn't hurt, right? "Are you kidding? Where'd you get a kid to look after?" Jaime shot back.

Everett tilted his head, suddenly wondering what their Mateo Haley might look like all grown up. Would he take after him or Selena, or maybe be a blend of both? At least... he wouldn't be outdone by the kid in front of him, that's for sure. "Found one," Everett replied casually.

Jaime:".

After a few beats of silence, Jaime's voice came through, laced with concern, "Everett, buddy, maybe we should see someone about this. You can't let what happened with Selena make you sick. I'm genuinely worried!"

"Sure, losing your kids was a tragedy, but if you want more, plenty of women would be happy to have them with you. You can't just snatch someone else's kid, that's illegal!"

Just the mention of Selena was

enough to darken Everett's mood

instantly. His face turned cold.

"Jaime, if you're that bored, why

nover

don't you check out some projects in

Africa and quit bothering me?"

With that, he hung up and turned off his phone.

swn&

Jaime, hearing the dial tone, was fuming. If it wasn't for the fact that he'd heard Selena was back and worried Everett might be in a bad mood or do something reckless, he wouldn't have bothered. Stubborn as a mule, and after all these years, Jaime was the only one who stuck around, yet Everett didn't even appreciate it! Hmph!

Everett tossed the phone back onto

the coffee table, his thoughts stil unsettled. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm down, then glanced back at the child, though he no longer felt like chatting

It was getting late, and having a child out all day must have his family worried sick. He couldn't keep him here forever; he had no interest in kidnapping someone else's kid.

The child sat quietly, with a small backpack beside him. It probably had his ID in it. With that thought, Everett reached over, grabbed the backpack, unzipped it, and started to empty its contents.

...

Meanwhile, Selena was on edge, not

stopping for a moment in her search

for her child. While driving, her phone beeped. She glanced over to see Mateo's smartwatch had turned on, sending her location updates. noveldrama

Filled with hope, Selena quickly pulled over, grabbed her phone, and checked the location. In the next instant, her eyes widened in disbelief. Little Mateo was near... Moon Bay? Worried she might have gotten it wrong, she rubbed her eyes and checked again. It was still there... Her heart nearly stopped.

Of course, she should have guessed it sooner. Ava always talked about Moon Bay, saying it was the place where Mom lived. If Mateo came to Newport to find her, he'd definitely go there.