Chapter 1 Maya Lin's Secret Son

"Mama!"

Out of the blue, a little boy darted toward a stunning woman in the midst of an interview. The lady instinctively gazed downward, finding a 5 or 6-year-old boy wrapping his arms around her waist. The radiant smile that had adorned her face earlier quickly faded. Her eyes widened momentarily upon seeing the boy's face. "Why is he...?" Her voice dropped, tinged with astonishment.

They locked eyes. The matching eyes and hair color raised suspicion among the onlookers. Reporters immediately inundated her with questions. "Miss Maya Lin, is this your child?"

"When did you tie the knot? Who's the father of this lad?"

"Miss Maya Lin, why have you concealed your son?"

Maya Lin turned pale. She gently pushed the child away with her hand. "N-no, he's n-not my son." Her voice wavered, and she hastily distanced herself from the young boy, evading the reporters.

The abandoned child couldn't escape the reporters' pursuit. A bespectacled man stepped forward. "Sir, is he your child? Are you wedded to Ms. Maya Lin?"

"Please make way!" The man with glasses held onto the little boy, parting the crowd.

The man with glasses, presumed to be the child's father, passed the boy into the arms of a handsome man exuding a cold aura. One of the reporters recognized him. "Isn't he CEO Ren, who owns a significant business in S City? Is he...?"

The reporters gave chase but were obstructed, only able to catch a glimpse of their target's back.

***

Maya Lin stared at her reflection in the mirror. "Why? Why did he come to me?"

Maya's eyes betrayed her anxiety. The memory of the little boy's face resurfaced in her thoughts. His visage bore a faint resemblance to her, with the same hazel eyes and hair color. "Realize, he ain't my son. My son passed away six years ago, and he's the one who's grown up healthy, taking everything my son had."

Her heart ached anew, unearthing long-buried memories. "I'm on the verge of leaving, yet you're still haunting me?"

Maya grasped her hair in frustration. "It's my fault. I should've never come to S City, a place that only stirs up painful memories."

Maya's cell phone rang, revealing her manager's name on the screen.

"Hello, Manager."

"Maya, did you really have a child? Why did you hide it from the company? What are we going to do about this situation?" The manager's voice was filled with anger.

"I don't have a child. That kid isn't mine. I don't even know where he came from or why he called me 'mama.'" Maya vehemently denied.

The manager's voice on the phone brimmed with frustration. "Don't lie! The internet is buzzing, and the paparazzi have dug into your past. You'll see for yourself! You'll have to come clean."

"What can I confess? I've already told you he's not my son...hello, Manager." The manager abruptly ended the call. Maya then opened her social media app. As soon as she logged in, she was taken aback by the contents on the homepage.

Indeed, her name was at the top of the trending searches, but not for the award she had recently received. A post from a renowned paparazzi was making the rounds, which read, "Maya Lin's Hidden Child and Secret Marriage to Samuel Ren Exposed."

The hashtags #SecretChild of Award-Winning Actress, #HiddenMarriage of '90s Icon and CEO, and #ActressDeniesChild were all trending in hot searches.

This was the first time in her career that Maya found herself ensnared in a scandal. She had meticulously upheld her image throughout her tenure in the entertainment industry. "How did it come to this? The reputation and career I've painstakingly built over the years are unraveling because of this past."

Maya felt lightheaded. Was she about to lose her career in an instant? She had toiled relentlessly to make a name for herself. Could it all crumble within minutes?

A series of numbers displayed "Incoming Call" on her phone screen. Maya's eyes widened as she recognized the sequence of digits. Numbers that had remained unchanged over the years.

"Isn't this...?"