“The Child in the Portrait”
1. My First Day at Hawthorne Estate

My name is Ava Coleman, and I’m 27 years old. I work as a maid in high-end homes around the Hamptons. It’s not as glamorous as many people think—as a maid, I see things that the rich try to hide from the world.

Today I’ve started a new job at Hawthorne Estate, the home of tech mogul Richard Hawthorne—a man worth over $40 billion.

The butler leads me through a long hallway lined with portraits.

“The Hawthorne family has a tradition of hanging portraits of all its members,” she says.

I nod, my eyes scanning each face.

Until I see one that freezes my entire body.

A boy about 6, with sad brown eyes and soft, messy black hair, stares straight at the viewer.

Around my neck hung a red string baby bracelet—the same one I had knitted for the boy I had cared for five years before.

I gasped.

“Oh my god…”

The housekeeper turned around. “Is there a problem?”

I trembled. “I know… this child.”

But that was impossible.

Because the boy I knew—Ethan—had been reported dead in the house fire in 2019.

And I was the one who carried him out when the fire broke out. He died in my arms.

Or at least… I believed so.

2. The Buried Truth

The housekeeper frowned. “That’s impossible. That picture was of the master’s only son.”

“What’s his name?” I asked, my voice almost choking.

“Caleb Hawthorne,” she replied. “Missing three years ago.”

I almost collapsed.

Ethan disappeared in 2019. Caleb disappeared in 2021.
There was no such coincidence.

That night, in the staff room, I searched the internet for information about Caleb Hawthorne. The news all said the same thing:

Missing without a trace.

No evidence of abduction.

FBI suspected fugitive.

The Hawthorne family was unusually quiet.

I looked at the photo.
Smile. Brown eyes. Red bracelet.

It was the boy from back then.

But he died in my arms…

So what was that thing I was holding that day?

3. The Midnight Request

Around 1 a.m., the housekeeper knocked on my door.

“The boss wants to see you.”

I was cold.

I followed her to the library—the firelight reflected off the cold face of billionaire Richard Hawthorne.

He looked at me as if observing an experiment.

“You said you knew the child in the picture?”

“I… just knew him,” I said, trying to sound calm.

He laughed dryly.

“I’ve interviewed over 200 employees. No one has ever said that.”

I was silent.

He moved closer. “Miss Coleman, the boy in the picture is my son. He’s so important that… I’d pay anything to find him.”

When he said any word, I shivered.

“I’m asking,” he said. “Where did you meet my son?”

I took a deep breath.

“Sir… I used to work at Foster Home Little Pines—a foster home for abandoned children. I took care of a boy named Ethan… just like the boy in the picture.”

Richard Hawthorne stood still for a few seconds.

Then he said something that made my hair stand on end:

“Ethan is Caleb’s real name.”

4. The Buried Investigation

Hawthorne took me to his office, locked the door, and lowered his voice:

“You must know the truth.”

He opened the safe and took out a thick file.

“Caleb is not missing,” he said. “Caleb was switched.”

I was stunned.

He handed me another photo—of another boy named “Caleb,” who had been reported missing from the family.

“The media doesn’t know my son’s real face,” he explained. “Because I didn’t want him to be noticed. I’ve kept his face hidden from the public since birth.”

I stared at him.

“So how did Ethan—the real Caleb—come to be in the foster home?”

Hawthorne paused.

“He was taken away by his biological mother,” he said slowly. “Before we signed the divorce agreement.”

He showed me the paperwork.

The boy’s biological mother was Grace Hawthorne — the billionaire’s ex-wife.

A woman who had been diagnosed with postpartum psychosis.

“She kidnapped my child and disappeared,” Richard said. “Three years later, she sent me exactly one sentence:
‘The child doesn’t belong to you.’
Then she disappeared completely.”

I remembered the 2019 foster home fire—the fire had spread so quickly, it seemed… intentional.

I held onto the chair to steady myself.

“Are you saying… she started the fire?”

Richard didn’t respond.

His eyes said it all.

5. The Secret in the Red Bracelet

I remembered the only thing that remained intact after the fire:
the red bracelet I had knitted myself.

I asked, “Do you know the meaning of the boy’s red bracelet?”

Richard nodded.

“Grace believed the red bracelet protected the child from ‘the darkness.’
She always said something was watching Caleb.”

My heart sank.

The disturbed mother didn’t just want to hide her child…

She hid.

But hide from what?

6. A Survivor’s Account

I returned to Little Pines on my own, looking for the old housekeeper—Mae.

When she saw me, she burst into tears.

“Ava… found the baby?”

I was shocked.

“You think he’s alive?”

Mae was trembling.

“The fire… wasn’t an accident. I heard footsteps running from Ethan’s room.”

“Who?!”

She shook her head.

“All I remember is… a woman with long black hair, wearing a gray coat.”

My skin prickled.

“Grace Hawthorne had black hair too.”

Mrs. M

ae held my hand.

“Ava… the body you carried out… I’m not sure it was Ethan. His face was burned beyond recognition.”

My heart sank.

I believed the boy was dead…

But maybe it wasn’t him.

7. The Truth Bomb

I returned to the Hawthorne mansion.

Richard waited for me in the gallery. I faced him:

“I need to know. Why did you hang Ethan’s picture in your house? Did you know he was missing and didn’t call the police?”

He looked at me coldly.

“I don’t trust the police. I trust you.”

I backed away—something was wrong.

“Why me?”

He opened a drawer.

And held out something that almost made me scream.

A small button-sized camera.

It was found… under the boy’s red bracelet.

Richard said,

“Caleb… recorded what made his mother run away.”

I asked, my lips trembling.

“What’s on the camera…?”

He replied,

“A 12-second video.
It shows a man strangling Grace Hawthorne in her bedroom.
The man was wearing my suit.”

I froze.

“You mean… you’re being framed?”

Richard shook his head.

“No. That man…
was my twin brother—Charles.
The man the world thought was dead 20 years ago.”

I was stunned.

“Charles faked his own death to hide from the FBI,” Richard continued. “He came back to take everything that was mine—including Caleb.”

I could barely breathe.

“So… where’s Caleb?” I whispered.

Richard looked deep into my eyes.

“I need you to find Caleb before Charles finds him.
Because you’re the only one he trusts.”

8. Climax: Charles’s Arrival

The sound of shattering glass echoed from downstairs.

Richard’s face paled.

“No… he’s here.”

I turned—and saw a man who looked exactly like Richard, but whose eyes were as sharp as knives.

“Hello, brother,” Charles said, his voice cold as steel.

I backed away.

Charles looked straight at me.

“Are you Ava? The only one Caleb trusts?”

I held my breath.

“Take me to him,” Charles said. “Or you die right here.”

Richard stood in front of me.

“She doesn’t know.”

Charles narrowed his eyes.

“Good. I’ll find her later.”

He lunged forward.

I screamed.

A gunshot.
Richard clutched his chest and fell to the floor.

Charles ran away.

I knelt down beside Richard.

“You need an ambulance!”

He grabbed my hand, his voice broken:

“Caleb… isn’t missing…
He’s… in the only place… his mother felt safe…”

I asked, tears in my eyes:

“Where?!”

He whispered:

“Little Pines.
The place he once called home.”

He gasped.

I screamed for help.

But it was too late.

9. Twist: The Final Truth

I returned to Little Pines.

Mae greeted me with a panicked look.

“Ava… they just brought a boy here!”

I ran into the infirmary.

A boy was sitting on the bed—sad brown eyes, messy black hair.

“Ethan…” I whispered.

But the boy shook his head.

“My name is Caleb.”

I hugged him.

The boy was speechless.

“My mother said… if anyone asked, I had to say another name. She said someone wanted to hurt me.”

I asked:

“All these years… where have you been?”

He replied:

“At the house of a kind woman my mother sent me to. She said to wait until she came back.”

I swallowed my tears.

“Where is my mother?”

Caleb bowed his head.

“She… never woke up again.”

I held him close, tears falling like rain.

Charles had killed Grace.

And now he wanted the boy.

I whispered:

“You’re safe. I promise.”

But the boy gently pushed me away.

“Ava… I have a secret. My mother said if you come, I have to give you this.”

Caleb took a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me.

I opened it.

Grace’s scribbled handwriting:

“If I die, Charles will come looking for Caleb.

The only person who can protect my child…
is you, Ava Coleman.
Because Caleb is your son.”

I stood there, stunned.

I couldn’t breathe.

I couldn’t think.

The boy looked at me, his eyes trembling:

“You are my mother… really?”

My heart felt like it was being torn in two.

A memory flashed—in 2016, I was anesthetized during a strange surgery at a private hospital. I thought it was a car accident. But now…

No.
Richard and Grace had stolen my eggs for their fertilization contract.

This child has my blood.

I collapsed, hugging him.

“Honey… I’m sorry… I didn’t know…

But I’m here.”

Before I could say anything else, the glass door of the medical room shattered.

A man’s voice rang out:

“Give me the boy, Ava.”

Charles.

The real nightmare began here.