Game of Love and Deception: The Billionaire's Ex Wife
Chapter 71: Closure

Chapter 71: Closure

"Uncle Lorenzo!"

Bryan ran to hug Lorenzo the second he entered the child welfare office located within the orphanage building. He was dressed in the matching lemon sweatpants Lorenzo had gotten him during his last visit.

"Hey, big man!"

Lorenzo crouched to pick him up, ruffling his hair playfully.

"Hey, don’t do that! You’ll mess up Mrs. Grandiff’s hard work," Bryan immediately complained, his tiny hand smoothing over his hair in an attempt to rearrange it.

Lorenzo and the middle-aged woman, Mrs. Grandiff, head of child welfare, laughed.

"I’m sorry. I should’ve known Mrs. Grandiff put in a lot of work to make you look this handsome," Lorenzo apologized, setting him down.

After exchanging pleasantries with Mrs. Grandiff and chatting briefly, Lorenzo walked out of the small office, holding Bryan’s hand. The child welfare had been hesitant to let him take Bryan out, afraid that further emotional attachment might complicate the adoption. But eventually, she gave in, realizing the two of them needed closure—one last time.

"Where are you taking me, Uncle Lorenzo? Mrs. Grandiff said it’s not holiday time yet and I can’t come to your house."

Lorenzo opened the back door of his car and helped Bryan in, securing the straps of the forward-facing car seat. He met the little boy’s curious gaze.

"I’m taking you to the amusement park so we can play together. You like that, right?"

"Woah! I love to play with you!"

The way his adorable brown eyes lit up made Lorenzo smile—a bittersweet, aching kind of smile. He wished he’d never have to say goodbye.

"Good. Now sit tight and let Uncle take you on an adventure," he said, ruffling his hair before closing the door.

Bryan quietly began rearranging his hair again, and it made Lorenzo chuckle. He cast him another glance before driving off.

"Uncle Lorenzo, when the holiday comes, can I come to your house with Lola?"

Lorenzo’s chest tightened. He wanted to tell him that he wouldn’t be allowed to visit again—that he would soon be adopted by a new family. That this was goodbye. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Instead, he asked, "Who’s Lola?"

From the rearview mirror, he noticed Bryan blushing, which piqued his curiosity.

"You know I can’t let Lola visit if I don’t know who she is," he explained.

"She’s my new friend. I told her about the games we used to play when I visited you, and she asked if she could come next time. So that we could all play it together."

Lorenzo’s car made a turn.

"It seems to me you really like Lola," he probed.

"Yes. She’s beautiful. I like her long hair and she plays hide and seek with me," Bryan admitted innocently, making Lorenzo laugh.

"Alright then. I’ll think about letting beautiful Lola visit my house next holiday," he said, slowing the car as they reached the massive, colorful compound.

He stepped out and unstrapped the car seat.

"We’re here?"

Bryan bounced out, eyes wide with excitement.

Like father and son, they walked into the main building where Lorenzo bought their tickets. They headed to the massive open space filled with all kinds of games and crowds of children with their parents.

Crouching down, Lorenzo asked, "Which one do you want to play first?"

"I want to enter the horse," Bryan replied, pointing to the brightly colored carousel, eyes sparkling in anticipation.

"Alright, let’s go ride the horse."

Lorenzo picked him up and placed him on a gold-colored one that Bryan had chosen.

"Hold this rod tightly, okay?" he instructed, and Bryan gripped it.

The carousel began to move. Lorenzo stood there watching and smiling as Bryan and the other children circled past him over and over, laughing and waving.

He swallowed the lump rising in his chest as he snapped a photo of the boy on his phone. His mind drifted to the very first time he met Bryan at the orphanage. The boy had been just three then—small, quiet, and new to the system. Something about his wide, curious eyes and the way he clung to a worn stuffed elephant had tugged at something deep inside Lorenzo.

When he learned Bryan’s parents had died in a tragic car accident and that the boy had no other living relatives, just like him, it shattered his heart.

From that moment on, he felt a pull he couldn’t explain. He visited more often, brought him toys, took him to his place during the holidays—trying to give him the closest thing to family he could.

But now, someone else was going to take that place.

"Uncle Lorenzo!"

Bryan’s excited voice snapped him back to the present. Lorenzo looked up and responded with a smile.

Moments later, the two of them were at the shooting gallery, laughing and struggling to win a giant stuffed tiger. When they finally succeeded, a nearby artist approached them, explaining that the prize came with a special perk: a free face painting as part of the park’s promotion for winning the biggest stuffed animal of the day.

Bryan’s eyes lit up as they were led to the painting booth. He eagerly scanned the display board filled with colorful superhero designs.

"I want to be Spider-Man!" he declared with infectious joy.

"I want to be Spider-Man too!" A tiny voice chimed in behind them—a girl around Bryan’s age pulling her elderly father along as she came to stand beside him.

"Sir, please make both of us Spider-Man," Bryan added politely, "...and my uncle too."

Lorenzo blinked, caught off guard. Before he could respond, the little girl cut in again.

"I want my dad to be Spider-Man too!"

Bryan crossed his arms and shot her a hard look. "Why do you want everything I want?"

The girl flinched.

Immediately, both men stepped in to gently hold their children back.

"Hey," Lorenzo murmured, kneeling beside Bryan. "Remember what I told you? Always be kind to strangers."

Bryan hesitated, then gave a small nod before turning back to the girl. "I’m sorry. We can all be Spider-Man, okay?"

The little blonde beamed. By the time their faces were fully painted, the two had become best of friends—already reluctant to part ways.

Hours later, Lorenzo and Bryan walked back to the car, looking like the newest Spider-Men in town, their faces painted in red and blue webs. The only thing missing was a proper suit. Lorenzo had no doubt Bryan would request they buy one if he spotted it.

Passersby giggled as they walked past, some snapping quick pictures of the mismatched pair.

On the drive back to the orphanage, Lorenzo’s heart grew heavier with every mile. Bryan sat beside him, animated and giggling with the tiger on his legs, recounting their entire day like Lorenzo hadn’t been there to witness it all.

Then he asked when they’d be going back again. Lorenzo’s heart squeezed.

He had no idea that today might’ve been their last adventure together. And for the first time in a long time, Lorenzo had to fight back tears, forcing himself to smile and nod rather than break in front of a child.

When they arrived at the orphanage, he couldn’t say goodbye. He simply watched Bryan hop out, then turned away. One step after the other, he walked back to his car, refusing to look over his shoulder.

Each step intensified his doubt. Was he making a mistake by letting Bryan go? By leaving him to be adopted by strangers instead of taking the leap and becoming the father the boy clearly thought he already was?

He slipped into the driver’s seat, resting his forehead against the wheel. Inhale. Exhale.

This was the right thing to do.

He deserved a safe, stable family—someone good, someone untainted. He deserved more than a man with blood on his hands and demons in his past, to call dad. He deserved a future untouched by the danger of being connected to him.

Lorenzo whispered those words to himself again and again, like a prayer he desperately wanted to believe in, until he finally found the strength to drive away.

A few miles down the road, his phone rang. His brows furrowed as he answered, his grip tightening around the steering wheel. One of his men was on the line, his voice low and urgent.

"Boss, Jamie’s wife spotted us. She tried going to the police—feared she was being followed."

Lorenzo’s jaw clenched as his car slowed with the traffic. "What did you do?"

"We took her. Told her we were sent by Jamie to protect her and the kid until he returned," the man replied, his voice rough.

"And she believed that?"

"For now, yeah. She’s back at the safehouse—calm, even hopeful. But I don’t think that’ll last. She’ll figure it out eventually."

Lorenzo sighed. Deep down, he’d known this would happen. Sooner or later, he’d have to tell her the truth—that Jamie was dead, and if she wanted to keep herself and her son alive, she had no choice but to follow his lead. But now wasn’t the time for such a risky move.

Rafael Vincenzo had his own men hunting for the woman and her child ever since discovering they’d escaped. And Rafael wasn’t one to tolerate loose ends. He wouldn’t stop until he found them.

"Keep them safe," Lorenzo ordered quietly. "I’ll figure something out."

Then he ended the call, eyes fixed on the road ahead, even though his thoughts were anything but clear.

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