Then something outside the window made him lift his head—and his world stopped.

By the entrance of a shabby convenience store, a woman knelt on the wet pavement, clothes clinging to her thin frame, hair soaked and stuck to her cheeks. Beside her stood two children—twins, maybe nine or ten—huddled together, shivering, tiny hands stretched out toward strangers rushing by. Their paper cup rattled with the occasional coin.

Alexander’s chest tightened—not just out of pity, but out of shock.

He knew that face.

Under the exhaustion, beneath the hunger and shame, he recognized her: Emily Carter.