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Chapter 2 Returning After Six Years, Mistaken for Her Own Son

Six years later, a plane from abroad touched down smoothly in Arizona. A woman dressed in a casual black ensemble and sporting a baseball cap disembarked. Though her face was obscured, her figure and presence were perhaps even more striking than those of a movie star.

What drew onlookers' eyes were the two children beside her. A cool-looking boy wearing sunglasses pushed a large suitcase on which sat the adorable Elisa, who was intently counting a handful of coins which were the proceeds of her earnings at the airport.

She charged five bucks for a photo, and ten for an interaction.

"I made a total of two hundred and sixty dollars!" Elisa carefully tucked the money into her little purse before looking up and exclaiming, "Harry, we can treat Mom and Mia Reed to a fancy dinner tonight!"

"In Arizona, the minimum cost for a fancy dinner per person is three hundred twenty dollars. If we two get half off, it'll take nine hundred sixty dollars for the four of us. Your money isn't enough," Harry replied coolly.

Her cheerful face instantly fell as she pouted, "When can I get rich? I want to eat fancy dinners every day!"

As they reached the exit, they spotted someone outside the fence holding up a large photo with a name written on it.

"Galatea!" Elisa squinted at the name on the picture, examined it closely, her brows furrowing, and turned to the woman, "Mom, that's you in the photo, isn't it?"

Galatea Hartley glanced at the photo and replied indifferently, "Yes, that's me."

Indeed, she was now known as Galatea, for Stellan had died six years ago in the delivery room.

The person tasked with picking them up overheard and hastened to say, "You must be Dr. Galatea! It's a pleasure to meet you; I'm here from Serenity Heights Medical Center."

"Nice to meet you," Galatea responded with a nod.

Elisa, still fixated on the photograph, frowned deeper, "Mom, you look so undernourished in this photo; it doesn't show off your beauty at all."

Galatea remained unfazed; ever since the Storm family went bankrupt, she disliked having her picture taken. This was an old photo taken shortly after childbirth for her international records. Not in the best state, but too apathetic to retake it, she had stuck with this picture ever since.

"Mom's a natural beauty; she looks good no matter what!" Harry patted Elisa's head gently, correcting her with a grin.

The greeter at the airport looked at the two kids and couldn't help but smile, "Dr. Galatea, your siblings are adorable."

With a contented smile, Galatea didn't bother to correct the relation and politely replied, "Would you mind waiting a moment? I'll just drop them off and be right back."

"Of course, take your time, Dr. Galatea,” the greeter replied.

Mia, who had come to pick up the kids, had been waiting outside the airport. She had been a nanny during her younger days with the Storm family. After the Storms went bankrupt and even Galatea's fiancé had taken off, it was only Mia who remained steadfast by their side.

It was also Mia who had come through during the birth, begging the doctor to perform an emergency cesarean. Otherwise, Galatea and the twins wouldn't have survived.

It was just tragic for her first child, who had been taken away before she even had a chance to see him. Mrs. Marigold hated her, so she surely wouldn't have taken him in. That child was probably gone.

The thought caused her heart to ache.

After six years, Galatea finally recovered and came back. There was much to do, but finding her child was most important.

"Mia!" The crisp call of Harry and Elisa snapped her out of her reverie, and she turned to see the now silver-haired Mia.

"Mia, you've had a rough time these past months." Mia had come back a month early just to prepare for their return.

“Not at all,” Mia embraced the two children lovingly and said with a smile, “With such well-behaved and adorable kids, how could it be hard? Now, go on, Stellan, I’ll take good care of Harry and Elisa.”

“Good luck on your first day at work, Mom. We’ll wait for you to come home for a yummy dinner,” Elisa said with an enticingly sweet smile.

After watching Mia and the kids drive off, Galatea turned back to the greeter with a soft smile, “Sorry for the wait.”

The greeter replied, “No problem at all, Dr. Galatea, shall we?” `

Galatea got into the car with the greeter, and as they drove off, she gazed out the window, feeling both familiar and estranged from the city after being away for six years.

Half an hour into the drive, they pulled into Serenity Heights Medical Center.

Entering Dr. Galen's office, Galen was looking over her resume and stood up promptly as she walked in, "The resume is impressive, but meeting you in person - truly, seeing is believing."

"You flatter me too much," Galatea responded.

"Not at all," Galen continued, "You left a high-paying position at the American Institute of Medical Research to decisively come back and contribute to our hometown's healthcare. You're incredible."

Galen's words left her feeling ashamed. She wasn't as enlightened as he thought; her choice to come to Serenity Heights Medical Center was purely personal - this was the hospital where she'd given birth, the only place she might uncover clues about her lost son.

"Come on, I'll take you to meet your new colleagues in neurosurgery,” said Galen.

The process of greeting the new staff wasn't complicated, and Galen took good care of her, even arranging a private office.

They had planned a ‘welcome-back’ dinner for her tonight, but with so much to settle after returning to the country, she decided to decline.

"Next week, when I officially start, I'll treat everyone to a meal."

After saying this, Galatea walked out. She had merely come to check in today and would start work the week after.

Leaving the neurosurgery department, she intentionally visited the maternity ward, pausing outside the delivery room for a few seconds before turning away.

After changing, as she turned a corner on her way to the restroom, she bumped into a young boy who was running quickly.

"Hey there, are you okay?" Galatea bent down to help the boy, but her sentence was cut short when she saw his face – her expression instantly darkened, "Harry! Didn't I tell you to go home with Mia? Who let you sneak after me to the hospital?"

Noting his attire - a little suit and a duckbill cap, she wondered if these were the new clothes Mia had bought for him.

But the boy she'd bumped into was staring back at her in wide-eyed confusion. Harry? Was she calling him? His name was Caspian!

"I'm speaking to you - if you keep staring like that, I'm going to get really angry!" she scolded him with a stern tone.

Just as Caspian was about to reply, an anxious voice called from outside, "Stop messing around, come out here, will you?"

Hearing this, Caspian immediately clung to Galatea, wrongly admitting, "I'm sorry, Mom, I won't dare do it again – please, take me away from the hospital."

Was this kid admitting his mistake so quickly? Galatea pondered.

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