“There are things we need to talk about,” she said softly. “But not here.”
“But is he?” Leo insisted.
Chloe touched his cheek. “Yes.”
Harrison inhaled sharply.
Lucas stared at him. Mason hid behind Chloe. Leo went silent, and that silence hurt most…
Harrison Sterling had survived market crashes, hostile boardrooms, and billion-dollar failures without losing his composure. But outside Chicago O’Hare, when he saw three little boys clinging to Chloe’s coat, all the confidence drained from his face.
Leo noticed him first. “Mom,” the five-year-old whispered, “who is that man?”
Harrison flinched. Before Chloe could answer, Lucas tilted his head and said, “He looks like us.”
Mason pressed closer to her leg.
Harrison stepped forward, staring from one child to the next. His face shifted between shock, anger, fear, and something far more painful.
“Chloe,” he breathed, “tell me they’re not…”
She lifted her chin. “Not what?”
“How old are they?”
Leo answered proudly, “We’re five. I was born seven minutes first.”
