Chapter 4 - The Orphans Arrive
The following afternoon, a black SUV pulled up to the estate. Clara practically flew down the front steps, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.
The door opened, and three terrified, incredibly thin children stepped out onto the gravel. Leo, now ten, stood protectively in front of Toby, eight, and little Mia, who was five. They were dressed in cheap, worn-out clothes, clutching small plastic bags holding their only possessions.
"Clara!" Mia screamed, breaking away from her brothers and running as fast as her little legs could carry her.
Clara dropped to her knees, catching the little girl in her arms and burying her face in Mia's hair, sobbing uncontrollably. Leo and Toby rushed forward a second later, tackling their older sister in a desperate, tearful embrace. For the first time in ten years, the siblings were reunited without a ticking clock, without a social worker hovering nearby.
Julian stood on the portico, watching the scene, a lump forming in his throat. He had negotiated billion-dollar mergers without blinking, but seeing the absolute, desperate love between Clara and these children completely undid him.
He walked down the steps slowly so as not to startle them. Leo immediately stepped in front of his sisters, his small fists clenched, his eyes wide and fearful. He had been bumped around the foster system enough to know that rich, powerful men were usually dangerous.
Julian stopped a few feet away and knelt down in the gravel, ruining his three-thousand-dollar suit pants, bringing himself down to eye level with the boy.
"You must be Leo," Julian said softly.
Leo nodded stiffly. "Are you the man who bought my sister?"
Julian’s heart ached at the words. "No, Leo. I'm the man who was lucky enough to have your sister choose him. My name is Julian. I'm your brother-in-law."
Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out a heavy, silver pocket watch. He held it out to Leo. "I know you've had to be the man of the house for a long time. You've been protecting Toby and Mia, and you've done an incredible job. But you're in my house now. And in my house, you get to just be a kid. I've got the watch now. I'll protect all of you."
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Leo stared at the watch, then at Julian’s earnest, open face. The heavy burden the ten-year-old had been carrying seemed to fracture just a little. He slowly reached out and took the watch, nodding.
From the second-story balcony, Beatrice watched the exchange. She saw the way her ruthless, cold-hearted billionaire son looked at the children with absolute tenderness. A tiny, imperceptible crack formed in her icy facade, though she fiercely refused to acknowledge it.
