The Mute Heir Speaks

The little boy standing by her knee was dressed in a miniature black suit. His dark hair was parted neatly to the side, framing a delicate, incredibly handsome face. His skin possessed the flawless pale quality of a porcelain doll.

Sylvie’s breath hitched in her throat.

Hayes Sterling.

This was her son!

Over the years, the guilt of leaving her child behind had haunted her. She had survived on meager scraps of news scrounged from newspapers. Now, the living, breathing boy was standing right in front of her. The surrealness of the moment washed over her. She felt as though she were trapped in a fragile dream. She had left a tiny newborn behind, a baby no bigger than a kitten, and now he had grown into this beautiful little boy. Was this a twisted blessing in disguise?

A few paces away, Julian and Lucian remained frozen in their tracks, their faces painted with stark disbelief.

Since the day Hayes was born, no one had ever heard the boy utter a single syllable. The heavy silence surrounding him had led everyone in their inner circle to conclude he suffered from a congenital loss of voice. The Sterling family had deliberately kept his suspected muteness buried under wraps to protect his status.

Yet, the impossible had just happened.

He was speaking.

Hayes was not mute!

Excitement flickered within Julian’s dark eyes. Beside him, Lucian dashed forward, crouching near the boy. "Hayes, hurry up and come to the treatment room with uncle for an examination!"

But the little boy resisted. Hayes shook his head stubbornly, stepping closer to Sylvie instead. His small hands reached out, clutching her damp clothes in a tight, desperate grip. He tilted his head upward, fixing his eager dark eyes on her face.

Caught off guard by her son's gaze, Sylvie's heart swelled with frantic joy. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her bruised knee, she squatted down to his eye level. Her trembling hands reached out, carefully cradling his delicate face. She studied every contour, memorizing the warmth of his skin.

This was her flesh and blood.

Tears welled up, spilling over her eyelashes. Joy leaked into her trembling voice. "Hayes, you are so cute. You are really very adorable." She sniffled, offering him a watery smile. "Do you like me?"

Without a second of hesitation, the boy nodded his head.

Witnessing the exchange, Julian’s expression plummeted into freezing anger. Ignored by his son, irritation flared in his chest. He refused to let the boy associate with a woman of such poor character.

"She is not your mother, so it is impossible for her to stay," Julian commanded, his voice slicing through the tender moment. "Come here."

Hayes stiffened. He stood rooted to the spot, his small hands still clutching Sylvie.

Julian's eyes narrowed. "Come here. Don’t make me repeat myself for the third time." Giving a second warning was already the limit of his paternal indulgence. The undeniable authority in his tone echoed off the walls.

The brightness in Hayes’s dark eyes shattered. His expression fell into a gloomy stare as he reluctantly released Sylvie and trudged toward his father.

Julian watched the boy approach, assuming his strict authority had won. But the moment Hayes reached him, the situation devolved into chaos. Instead of standing obediently, the boy lunged forward, wrapped his arms tightly around Julian’s leg, and bit down viciously.

A muffled grunt of pain escaped Julian's lips.

"Boss!" Lucian yelled, turning pale.

"Hayes!" Sylvie gasped, panic sweeping over her.

Hayes was unreachable. His small body clung to Julian's leg in a state of sheer frenzy. His jaw locked in a relentless grip. Within seconds, bright red blood began to overflow from the corner of the boy's lips, seeping through the dark fabric. The child had lost his mind, treating his father's leg like an enemy.

Julian gritted his teeth, a bleak aura surrounding him. He knew his son’s illness intimately. Whenever Hayes encountered any significant upset, he triggered these uncontrollable rages. The meltdowns were impenetrable. Coaxing was useless, and if the episode escalated, Hayes would resort to self-harm. Doctors had stressed the importance of keeping the child happy. It had been six stable months since the last attack.

Julian never imagined Sylvie would be the catalyst to shatter it.

"Julian, hurry up and promise him!" Lucian urged anxiously, fully aware of the catastrophic consequences.

Julian took a sharp breath, wincing as the teeth dug deeper. He glanced at Sylvie, then looked down at his frantic, unhinged son.

"I agree to let her stay," Julian stated coldly.

The boy loosened his jaw slightly, but he still refused to let go of Julian's leg.

Julian shot a sharp glare at Sylvie. "Tell him that you will stay."

Sylvie stood paralyzed, struggling to process the chaotic violence.

Reading her confusion, Lucian stepped closer, his voice dropping into a desperate whisper. "Hayes grew up with autism ever since he was young. He will throw a fit whenever he gets stimulated or denied. He is currently in a treatment stage. If we don’t calm him down soon, the progress will be ruined, and his condition will get even more serious."

Autism?

The word struck Sylvie like a physical blow. Her ears rang. Hayes had autism?

She couldn't believe her ears. A fresh wave of devastation crashed over her. Terrified of delaying his recovery, she fell back to her knees.

"Hayes, be a good boy," she coaxed, her voice trembling. "Please don't bite anymore. I am willing to stay."

Hearing her vow, Hayes finally released his father's leg.

Julian instructed Sylvie to wait right where she was, his tone returning to its freezing cadence. He then scooped the boy into his arms, ignoring his bleeding leg, and carried Hayes swiftly toward his bedroom upstairs.

Lucian grabbed the medical kit and hurried behind them.

Left alone in the empty corridor, Sylvie stared at the small droplets of blood on the carpet. The maternal joy she had felt moments ago was instantly shattered by frantic panic and devastating heartbreak. She stood paralyzed by the crushing reality. Her precious son, the boy she had mourned every day, suffered from severe autism. It felt as though fate had orchestrated a cruel, unending nightmare just to break her all over again.