CHAPTER 4 — The Secret Hidden in the Frost Family
CHAPTER 4 — The Secret Hidden in the Frost Family
Twenty minutes later, Atlanta Airport was crawling with police.
Every exit had been monitored.
Yet Ethan Vale had vanished.
So had the armed men.
It was as if they had never existed.
Desmond finally returned.
His expensive suit was torn.
A cut above his eyebrow dripped blood.
In his hand was one thing he had managed to recover.
Oliver's birth certificate.
He walked straight toward me.
"I'm sorry."
I stared at him.
"For what?"
"For believing walking away was the worst mistake I'd ever make."
His voice cracked.
"I had no idea there were three."
"You still left."
"I know."
Silence stretched between us.
Then Lily reached toward him.
Children didn't understand betrayal.
They only recognized kindness.
Desmond hesitated before lifting her into his arms.
She giggled immediately.
His eyes filled with tears.
"I've missed eighteen months."
"You missed everything," I replied quietly.
"Her first words."
"Oliver's first asthma attack."
"Emma learning to walk."
"You missed every birthday."
Every doctor's appointment.
Every sleepless night.
He lowered his head.
"I know."
Then his phone rang.
The screen displayed one name.
Arthur Frost.
His grandfather.
The founder of the Frost empire.
Desmond answered.
"I found them."
A deep voice replied.
"I know."
Desmond frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"I've known about the children since the day they were born."
Everything stopped.
"What?"
"I paid someone to watch over them."
Desmond looked at me in disbelief.
"I don't understand."
Arthur sighed.
"Because they were never your greatest secret."
"They were mine."
The call ended.
Neither of us spoke.
Minutes later, a black Rolls-Royce pulled up outside the terminal.
An elderly man stepped out with the confidence of someone who owned every building around him.
Arthur Frost.
Behind him walked six private security officers.
He looked directly at the triplets.
Then smiled.
"My great-grandchildren."
Oliver hid behind me.
Arthur's smile widened.
"They have the Frost eyes."
Desmond stepped forward.
"You knew."
Arthur nodded.
"For eighteen months."
"You let me believe Maya disappeared."
"I allowed you to learn the value of family."
"You manipulated my life!"
Arthur's expression hardened.
"No."
"I protected the bloodline."
He turned toward me.
"Maya."
"I owe you an apology."
Then he reached into his coat and handed me another sealed envelope.
"This contains the real reason people are hunting your children."
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a decades-old photograph.
A young woman stood beside Arthur Frost.
She looked exactly like me.
Not similar.
Exactly.
Same eyes.
Same smile.
Same birthmark beneath the left ear.
At the bottom of the photo were five handwritten words.
"My daughter... taken in 1998."
I looked up slowly.
Arthur Frost was staring directly at me.
His next sentence shattered everything I believed about my life.
"Maya..."
May you like
"Before you became the mother of my great-grandchildren..."
"...you were already part of the Frost family."
