The Five-Year-Old CEO's Mom-Finding Mission

When I was twenty-five, I had a child with Karl Hosein, the scion of a powerful family. Our vastly different worlds meant we had no future, so I took the money and resources his family offered and broke it off.

It wasn't until five years later, during a break on a film set, that a boy eerily similar to Karl approached me. His little mouth was downturned, a mix of hurt and childish arrogance.

"My dad is Karl Hosein," he said. "And you're my mom."

I looked at him and simply hummed a soft, "Mhm."

He quickly pulled a thick wad of cash from his backpack, his eyes filled with a desperate plea. "I'll hire you for one day. Please, will you come to my parent-teacher conference?"

I stared at the child holding the cash, momentarily speechless. I pressed my lips together and gently pushed his hand back.

"I don't want your money."

His eyes immediately welled up, and his voice grew softer and softer. "Grandma said you really like money, so I saved for a very, very long time to come find you." He sniffed. "All the kids at kindergarten say I'm an orphan because I don't have a mom I always tell them I do, that my mom is a big movie star. But they always say I'm lying." He looked down, his voice barely a whisper. "Even though you left me, I wasn't lying. But they just don't believe me"

He stood there, head bowed, his small body shaking with suppressed sobs. He wiped away a tear with his sleeve.

I knelt down, cupped his face in my hands, and wiped his tears away. "I don't want your money, but I can come."

His head shot up, his eyes bright. Incredulity warred with barely contained joy. He threw himself into my arms, burying his round head in the crook of my neck, and burst into fresh sobs, as if all the worlds injustices had suddenly come crashing down on him.

I gently patted his back, trying to soothe him. When hed finally cried himself out, he looked up, meeting my gaze. His cheeks flushed crimson, and he quickly averted his eyes, muttering awkwardly, "I don't usually cry. I'm a big boy. I I just couldn't help it."

Watching him, I shook my head with a smile. "It's okay. I don't mind."

He smiled, a small, shy curve of his lips, and grabbed my hand. "My name is Henry Hosein," he announced with enthusiasm. "My nickname is 'Buzz.' You can call me Buzz."

I smiled, gently smoothing his bangs. "I know."

He nodded, his round eyes sparkling. "You know my name?"

I nodded again, affirming it. "I know."

His given name, Henry, had been chosen by Karl's father. But "Buzz" was the nickname Id given him. How could I not know?

I led him to my RV. My assistants, Sally and Mia, were inside, and their eyes lit up when they saw me with such a handsome child.

"Sophie, where did you find this adorable kid?" Sally asked.

I squeezed Buzzs hand and said, with a nonchalant shrug, "Hes my son."

The smiles on their faces instantly froze. Panic flickered in their eyes.

"What? Oh my goodness! Were we caught on camera?!"

"If this gets out, it's over!"

Buzz, seeing my assistants' distress, tugged anxiously at my sleeve. "Am I causing trouble for you?"

At his words, Sally and Mia's worried expressions melted into looks of remorse.

I smiled, stroking Buzzs soft hair. "Buzz isn't trouble."

Sally and Mia quickly waved their hands. "No, no, we were just being silly, honey."

Buzz looked at me, then at the two assistants, and set his small backpack on the floor. He knelt, emptying the contents onto the floor: pajamas, a yellow cartoon umbrella, a water bottle, even his toothbrush, and the wad of cash. Hed clearly planned this.

Then he rummaged back into his backpack and pulled out two cheese sticks, offering them to Sally and Mia. He looked up at them sweetly. "Here, sisters, for you."

The two assistants hearts melted. They gushed, their voices high with affection.

"Oh, baby, you're so sweet!"

"Auntie loves cheese sticks!"

Buzz beamed, then pulled out several more from his bag. "Then you can have all of Buzzs cheese sticks."

After filming wrapped, I took Buzz back to my hotel room. It was then that I finally got the full story. This little guy had packed his backpack that morning and taken a taxi all the way from New York to Los Angeles. The driver had initially wanted to call the police, but Buzz had offered so much money that hed eventually accepted the fare.

Buzz had actually arrived that morning, but seeing how busy I was, he'd waited with my fans until I finished work. Hed waited all day, until evening. When the fans dispersed, hed secretly waited by my RV.

He was shoveling food into his mouth, clearly starving. My heart ached at the sight. I wanted to say something, but the words wouldnt come. I couldnt imagine how a child, all by himself, found the courage to take a taxi all that way. Three or four hours in a carI couldnt even begin to guess how anxious he must have been.

My voice caught in my throat. "What if youd gotten lost?"

Buzz, his mouth full of rice, pointed to the smartwatch on his wrist, his voice muffled. He looked up at me, smiling. "I wouldn't get lost! When I got in the car, I took a picture of the license plate with my smartwatch and sent it to Amy."

"And I kept calling Amy on my smart-toy watch."

Not only that, but hed brought a power bank, just in case his smart-toy watch ran out of battery.

The more nonchalantly he spoke, the more my heart twisted. He'd planned this so meticulously; his journey to find me must have been months in the making.

He puffed out his chest proudly and started chattering about his best friend. "Amy is my deskmate at kindergarten. Were best friends. Im going to marry her when I grow up!"

At that, I finally broke into a smile. "Next time you want to come find me, you can call me, and Ill come pick you up." I paused, then added, "If your dad agrees."

He nodded eagerly, humming a happy "Mhm."

After dinner, I took him to the bathroom. Seeing me follow him inside, he tugged at his pants, his face flushing crimson. He mumbled and stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

I knew he was shy. I shook my head, amused. "I won't watch you shower. Here's your body wash, shampoo, and toothpaste. Can you wash yourself?"

He nodded vigorously. "I can! I always shower by myself at home."

I stroked his hair. "Such a good boy."

Stepping out of the bathroom, I pulled out my phone and found a long-unused contact.

[Buzz is with me.]

A moment later, the reply came.

[I know. He told me on his smartwatch.]

Seeing the indifferent tone, my hands trembled with anger. But I had no right to scold him.

[When are you coming to pick him up?]

[Im busy with meetings. Let him stay with you for a couple of days.]

I bit my lip, taking a deep breath. My child was so unimportant to him.

I had just typed out a furious retort when the bathroom door opened. Buzz, clutching his dirty clothes, scurried toward me.

"Mommy, Im all clean and sweet-smelling."

I deleted the unsent message and put away my phone. I picked up the hairdryer and started drying his hair. The little boy in the mirror squinted, a soft smile on his lips, his small legs dangling from the stool, looking utterly content. I smiled and ruffled his hair.

After his hair was dry, I led him to the bed and kissed his forehead. "Alright, time to sleep. Im going to go get ready for bed."

The duvet covered most of his face, only his bright, watery eyes visible. He nodded.

When I finished my routine and came out, the small figure on the bed was happily rolling around, wrapped in the blanket. Seeing me, he quickly settled down, lying properly and patting the space beside him.

I understood. I climbed into bed and pulled him into my arms. His little body felt so soft in my embrace. For some reason, this small child brought me an immense sense of satisfaction and happiness. I pulled the covers up around us and gently patted his back.

As I patted, the little one in my arms quietly began to cry, his small hands gripping my nightgown tightly, as if afraid Id disappear the next second.

A childs sleepiness comes quickly. After crying in my arms, Buzz was asleep in no time. But I couldn't sleep at all that night. My thoughts drifted back to many years ago.

When I met Karl Hosein, I was a junior in film school, hustling for small roles, showing up at endless parties. My agent at the time offered me a shortcut. He said the company CEO was interested in me, willing to promote me, and asked if I was interested. Theres no such thing as a free lunch, and everyone knew the catch. But back then, I was young, full of pride, and naturally refused.

That led to a quiet blacklisting. I couldnt act in my companys productions, and with my contract, I couldnt act in anyone elses either. But the five-million-dollar breach of contract fee was impossible for my family to pay, even if we sold everything. They cut off all my paths. My only option was to wait it out, because in their eyes, my youth was worthless.

Then I met Karl Hosein.

I was in the restroom, throwing up alcohol, feeling utterly miserable. He handed me a tissue and asked, "If you cant take it anymore, you can come with me. I can give you everything you want."

I still refused. He just smiled, placing a business card in my hand. "If you change your mind, you can find me. At least I'm younger and better-looking than them, right? You wouldn't be losing anything."

The turning point came when my father was in a car accident, injuring his leg so badly it had to be amputated. The pillar of our family had collapsed. I was sobbing uncontrollably in the hospital stairwell.

Thats when Karl appeared again.

He quietly lit a cigarette beside me.

"Sophie," he said, his voice flat. "Your pride isn't worth much."

He was right. My pride wasn't worth much.

I ended up going with Karl. He paid my termination fee, placed me in a friend's entertainment company, and found me the most professional agent in the industry. From then on, I was like a sparrow transformed into a phoenix. Gigs rolled in, high-fashion gowns became my everyday wear, and famous directors cast me without question. Those years, Sophie Vance was unstoppable.

When our passion was at its peak, I once asked Karl why he chose me. He laughed, unrestrained, and said without hesitation, "Pure infatuation."

"I'm used to getting what I want. If I see something I like, I have to have it."

A simple reason: desire demanded possession. I knew clearly that Karl, born into wealth, was from a world entirely separate from mine. We each got what we needed; there was no right or wrong. So I desperately used his influence to climb higher.

When love clouds judgment, I also once fantasized that maybe one day I would be worthy of standing beside him. But everything changed the day I found out I was pregnant.

I joyfully told Karl the news. But his brow furrowed deeply.

"Sophie," he said, "I cant give you a legal status."

"If you want to have the child, have it. Ill be responsible for the child. If you don't want to, you can terminate the pregnancy."

His words plunged me into an icy abyss. I did consider termination, but the bond of blood is a strange and powerful thing. I couldn't bring myself to do it.

After I gave birth, Karls mother, Mrs. Hosein, sought me out. She made it very clear that I had no place in Karls future. Knowing when to quit was the wisest choice. She sent my father to the best rehabilitation center abroad and gave me a blank check. She also offered me the lead role in a film by a renowned director, a man who wouldnt ordinarily grant favors to Karl, but would to Mrs. Hosein. It was a world I could never have entered on my own.

Betting on a future that had no future, versus accepting this tangible successit was hard to refuse. But I didn't say yes. The final blow in what I thought was my redemption came when I learned Karl was getting engaged. He never hid it from me. I asked him, "What about me, then?" He thought for a whole night, but gave me no answer.

But I knew his answer.

I could love money, but my principles wouldn't allow me to be the other woman. So I broke up with him, taking everything Mrs. Hosein offered and cutting all ties with Karl Hosein.

At the time, Karl asked, "I can give you what you want too. Why do it this way?"

I smiled and told him, "You can't give me what I want."

He lowered his head in silence.