LOGINI folded my arms. “And the road outside my house?”“One of the perimeter cameras caught a vehicle stopping twice at the bottom of the hill. It never approached the gate. The plate was partially obscured.”“Make?”“Not confirmed yet.”“Occupants?”“Not identified.”I stared at him. “That doesn’t automatically make the two incidents connected.”“No.”“But you’re treating them like they are.”“I’m treating them like two things that should not be happening at the same time.”That made sense.I hated when he made sense. “Was there a threat against the school?”“No.”“Then why are you taking them?”“Because I can change the route without letting anyone track your usual vehicle pattern. Marco has already secured the route. Another car will follow behind us. The team at the school has been notified without involving the rest of the staff.”“You said your people were already at the school.”“Two have been stationed outside the perimeter since the first threat.”I pressed my tongue against my t
Sure.Sure. Apparently, Zachary de Sanctis kept emergency supplies for two children who technically weren’t even know he was their father.I wanted to be angry.I’m angry.He had arranged car seats, clothes, water, food, and security without asking me. Again. He always built the system first, then announced that I was safe inside it.But the part of me that had slept too deeply last night and still hadn’t finished her coffee noticed the straps already adjusted to the twins’ size.I zipped the bag harder than necessary. “You know this is controlling, right?”“Yeah.” The answer came far too easily.I frowned. “You’re not even going to defend yourself?”“It wouldn’t help.”“UNCLE SHINY!”I turned as Max came out first, dressed in his preschool uniform: a white polo beneath a navy sweater, shorts, tall socks, and sneakers that already had one stain even though he hadn’t left the house yet.His dark hair had been combed to the side with a little volume in front. Apparently, that was footb
I cleaned a kitchen that was already clean.There was no other reason for me to wipe the marble for the third time, unless the syrup spot I’d already removed had developed regenerative abilities and was waiting for me to let my guard down.The cloth moved left to right.Right to left.I flipped it over, then wiped the area beside the coffee machine, which no one had even used that morning.The oven clock read 8:04.My phone sat silent beside the sink.The window wasn’t offering any answers either.“THAT’S NOT FOOTBALL HAIR!” Max yelled from upstairs.“I TOLD YOU I DON’T KNOW WHAT FOOTBALL HAIR IS!” Bianna shouted back at almost the same volume.“I want it like Uncle Shiny’s!”“You have the head of a four-year-old, not a Nike endorsement!”“Auntie, don’t use too much gel. He already looks desperate.” Issa’s voice cut in, sharp and deeply offended.“I do not look desperate!”“You ask for athlete hair when you need a snack after running two laps.”“That’s because I’m growing!”I set down
“What happen?” The word came out before I had time to choose a tone that didn’t sound worried.Zach looked up.The coldness in his eyes vanished the second they found me. It was replaced by something calmer, lighter, soft. Too quickly.I knew him.He gave a shake of his head, then reached for his coffee like nothing had happened. “I’m taking our twins to school.”I blinked. “What?”“You’re staying home.”I set my mug down slowly. “Why?”He took a sip of coffee.I nearly grabbed the mug and poured it over his head. “Zachary.”“Later.” Flat. Easy. Like I had asked why he chose a black tie instead of why he had suddenly started making decisions about my children and my body in the same breath.I gave a short, humorless laugh. “It’s not an answer.”“For now, it is.”“Not in my house.”His eyes lifted to mine again. So calm.I hated that calm because it meant he had already made the decision before I had even finished getting angry.“BIBI! ISSA USED MY HAIR GEL!” Max’s voice exploded from
Max climbed down from his stool first, deliberately refusing to look at Issa. “I’m showering first because some people take forever in the bathroom.”Issa got down from the other side and lifted her chin. “I shower in my own bathroom, so I don’t care about the schedule of someone whose face takes up too much storage.”Max stopped.His back went rigid.I raised one finger before round two of the digital war could begin. “Upstairs. Shower. Uniforms. And if I hear one door slam, you’re going to school in your pajamas.”Issa looked down at her lavender pajamas and considered the threat for far too long.“My pajamas are cute.”“With house slippers.”Her expression changed immediately.“Cruel.”“Effective.”Max was already heading toward the stairs when Issa followed. They stayed two steps apart—far enough to protect their dignity, close enough that Max still caught the railing for her when she nearly tripped over the hem of her pajamas.Issa walked past him without saying thank you.But sh
“It’s funny,” he said.“Why am I wearing a crown?”“Because Issa said you’re the queen.”Issa turned sharply toward him. “I said Mommy is the queen. I didn’t say you could use an ugly crown.”“It’s not ugly.”“It’s pixels.”“Everything on an iPad is pixels.”Issa looked like science had just slapped her.Bianna swiped to the next picture.This one was worse.Zach was holding me from behind, my face half-buried in the pillow. Above us, Max had used the markup tool to draw a huge house. Inside it were four circle-shaped heads.Two small.Two large.In the yard, he had drawn three cats, a ball, and something that could have been either a dinosaur or Theo after three cups of coffee.The caption said:OUR HOUSE BUT TÍO CANNOT COMEI stared at the screen, then at Max. “Why isn’t Tío allowed inside?”“Because he said he’s allergic to romance.”“Nice house.” Zach leaned back slightly in his chair, his expression far too calm.I looked at him. “Would you rather die before or after breakfast?”
By evening, the cabin had changed color.The wet green afternoon had faded into dim gold at the windows. Outside, the forest looked denser now, the pine trunks dark, a thin fog rising again from the ground like something with bad intentions but enough manners to knock first. Inside, the fireplace w
At home, the first thing I did was throw my keys into the ceramic bowl by the door so hard the sound bounced through the foyer.Two little heads in the family room snapped toward me.Max sat cross-legged on the carpet, his navy T-shirt riding up a little over his adorably round little belly, one to
“Come on. We’re going home.”I finally said it again, even though my own voice sounded far away in my ears. Like it belonged to some other woman who just happened to be wearing my face.Max immediately tightened his arms around Zach’s neck.No.Wait.What?Now he was clinging to the man like it was
Max finally got bathed, although the entire process involved him yelling like he was being torn by force from his former life. Issa was worse. She stood in the bathroom like a tiny queen graciously tolerating a coup, demanding that the water be “not too hot, not too cold, not too aggressive.”Now t







