Author’s POV

The afternoon sun cast long, golden streaks across the playground of Bright Horizons Preschool, illuminating the bright plastic slides and the colorful murals painted along the outer walls. Most of the children had already been collected by their parents, their laughter fading down the street one by one, leaving behind a peaceful, unhurried atmosphere.

Only a handful remained.

Rancy was one of them.

Barely two years old, she sat in the sandbox with her legs stretched out in front of her, white socks now thoroughly baptized in gray sand. Her small hands patted at a lopsided mound she had been working on with the intense focus only toddlers possess. Whatever it was meant to be, the shape had long since surrendered under her enthusiastic efforts.

"Ba!" she giggled, clapping her sandy hands together proudly.

Sand exploded in all directions.

Beside her crouched another little girl—older, steadier, her movements deliberate. Dark curls bounced around her shoulders as she carefully picked up a fallen leaf and placed it atop the mound like she was crowning royalty.

"It’s a princess castle," the girl declared with absolute authority.

The teachers watched these two adorable children play, chatting amongst themselves until a tall figure approached the playground.

"Oh my God, is that him again?" whispered Ms. Sarah, the lead teacher, practically swooning as she spotted the approaching man.

"Ethan Quinn," sighed Ms. Jennifer, her hand fluttering to her hair. "London’s most gorgeous CEO. What I wouldn’t give..."

"Too bad he’s married," Ms. Sarah muttered, though her eyes remained glued to him. "That lucky wife of his doesn’t know how good she has it."

"Did you see that article in London Business Weekly? They called him the city’s most eligible bachelor before he got hitched," Ms. Jennifer added with a dreamy expression. "Those cheekbones could cut glass."

The teachers quickly tried to compose themselves, smoothing down their uniforms and checking their makeup as he drew closer.

He stood out immediately. Dressed in a dark, impeccably tailored suit, his Italian leather shoes looked almost comically out of place against the rubberized ground scattered with toy trucks and plastic shovels. He moved like someone who owned every room he entered, unhurried, his piercing gaze already scanning for someone specific.

Ms. Sarah practically melted as he approached their group. "Good afternoon, Mr. Quinn," she said, her voice pitched slightly higher than usual. "Vivian’s been such an angel today, as always."

Ethan’s entire demeanor shifted the moment his eyes found Vivian in the sandbox. The corporate mask slipped away, replaced by something warm and genuine—the transformation from CEO to devoted father happening in real time.

"There’s my little princess," he said softly, his voice carrying a tenderness that made even the most professional teachers sigh inwardly.“Uncle!”

Vivian spotted him first.

She sprang to her feet, abandoning the sandbox without a second thought, and ran toward him, curls bouncing wildly.

Ethan Quinn bent down just in time to catch her, steadying her as she nearly collided with his legs.

“Careful,” he said with a smile, brushing a curl away from her eyes. “Did you have a good day, princess?”

Vivian nodded eagerly. “I made a castle.”

“I can see that,” Ethan replied, amused. “Did you make it all by yourself?”

She shook her head and pointed back toward the sandbox. “With her.”

Ethan followed the direction of her finger.

Rancy sat exactly where she had been left, now poking at the sand with a small blue shovel, humming to herself. When she noticed the two of them looking, she paused and stared back, eyes wide with open curiosity.

“That’s my friend,” Vivian added seriously.

“You made a friend?” Ethan asked.

Vivian nodded again, then hesitated, as if weighing her next words.

“Can she come see Mommy’s pictures?”

The question landed softly, but it stilled him all the same.

Ethan masked the pause quickly, his expression gentle as ever. “That’s very kind of you to invite her.”

Taking Vivian’s hand, he walked with her back toward the sandbox.

Rancy looked up as they approached, her head tilting slightly. She studied the unfamiliar man with the solemn intensity toddlers often reserved for strangers, as if committing his face to memory.

“Hi,” Vivian said, suddenly quieter now that they were closer. “Do you wanna come to my house?”

Rancy blinked.

“I show you Mommy,” Vivian added earnestly. “She pretty.”

Rancy frowned, her brows knitting together as she processed the unfamiliar words.

“Mama?” she asked, turning her head, scanning the playground instinctively.

“Is your mama coming soon?” Ethan asked gently, lowering himself into a crouch so they were eye level.

Rancy nodded with absolute certainty. “Mama come.”

“We could wait and ask her,” Ethan suggested.

Rancy shook her head hard, curls bouncing wildly.

“Fwies!” she protested. “Mama pwomise fwies!”

She raised two fingers, though they didn’t quite separate properly.

Ethan chuckled, the sound low and warm. “I see. Promises are important.”

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a business card, its edges crisp and clean. Holding it between his fingers, he extended it toward Rancy.

“Can you give this to your mama for me?”

Rancy stared at it as if it were something magical.

Then she grabbed it with both hands.

“Card!” she declared triumphantly.

“That’s right,” Ethan said, rising to his feet. “Tell your mama to call me. We can talk about a playdate.”

“Bye-bye!” Vivian waved enthusiastically.

“Bye-bye!” Rancy echoed, clutching the card like treasure.

Serena arrived twenty minutes later.

She practically flew through the kindergarten gates, heels clicking like gunshots against the pavement, still catching her breath from traffic and an overlong meeting.

"I’m so sorry, sweetheart," she said the moment she reached her daughter, scooping Rancy up into her arms. "Mama got held up."

Rancy didn’t cry.

Instead, she beamed like sunshine and thrust something forward.

"Mama! Card!"

Serena shifted her onto one hip and took the card automatically.

Then she went completely still.

The elegant cream-colored paper bore a name that made her blood freeze.

ETHAN QUINN

Chief Executive Officer

LUXE Jewelry Design & Manufacturing

Her heart stopped.

"Friend house," Rancy said happily. "Vivi mama picture."

Serena stared at her daughter, her mind spinning like a tornado.

Vivian.

LUXE.

Ryan Blackwood.

Could Vivian be the child born to Ryan Blackwood’s supposedly abandoned wife? The one who was handed over to the Quinn family to raise?

The pieces were starting to click together in a way that made her skin crawl. If the rumors were true, if Ryan had really walked away from his pregnant wife, then Vivian would be living proof of his darkest secret. And the Quinns—they would be the cleanup crew, taking in the inconvenient evidence of his past.

But that would mean...

Serena’s mind raced as she stared at the business card.

"We’ll see about that, baby," she murmured. "But Mama promised you some fries, didn’t she?"

"Fwies!" Rancy cheered instantly.