The familiar creak of the screen door was the most comforting sound Evie had ever heard. For a fleeting second, she was just a mom coming home. The scent of lemon polish and crayons enveloped her, a stark contrast to the sterile, perfumed air of the penthouse.
The illusion shattered instantly.
Maya shot up from the sofa, her face a mask of frantic relief and fear. "Evie! Oh, thank God!" She rushed forward, grabbing her arms, her eyes darting to the imposing figure of Sebastian filling the doorway.
"Who is that? What's going on? There are strange men outside!"
Before Evie could answer, two small missiles launched themselves at her legs.
"Mommy!" Luna cried, burying her face in Evie's skirt.
Leo clung more quietly, his small arms wrapping tightly around her thigh, his face turned up to hers. The serious, silver-eyed gaze was full of unspoken questions.
Kneeling, Evie pulled them both into a crushing embrace, inhaling the sweet, little-kid scent of them. It was the only thing that felt real. "I'm here, babies. I'm here."
"We saw a black car," Leo whispered, his voice muffled against her neck. "And a man by the flowers."
"Is it the castle man?" Luna asked, pulling back, her hazel eyes wide with a mixture of fear and thrilling curiosity.
Evie's heart stuttered. She looked from Luna's hopeful face to Leo's wary one, then up at Maya's terrified expression.
Sebastian stood impassively by the door, a silent sentinel, but his presence screamed of the other reality waiting just outside.
"Maya, can you give us a minute?" Evie asked, her voice strained.
Maya hesitated, her protective instincts warring with her trust in Evie. After a long look, she nodded.
"I'll be in the kitchen." She shot a suspicious glare at Sebastian before retreating.
Evie took her children's hands and led them to the sofa, settling between them.
She could feel the weight of the ticking clock, each second a grain of sand falling. She had to do this now.
"Remember how I told you I was going to see someone very important?" she began, her voice soft.
Leo nodded, his eyes never leaving her face. Luna wriggled, impatient.
"The man I went to see… his name is Lysander." She took a shaky breath. "A long, long time ago, before you were born, he and I were very special friends."
"Like me and Liam at school?" Luna asked.
"A little bit like that, but… more." She chose her words with agonizing care. "You know how every child is made from a little piece of their mommy and a little piece of their daddy?"
They both nodded, this being the simplified version of the story they knew.
"Well, Lysander… is the daddy who gave me that little piece. Your piece."
The silence in the room was absolute. Leo's brow furrowed, the familiar little crease appearing. He was processing, fitting this new, colossal fact into the framework of his world. Luna, however, stared at her, her mouth forming a perfect 'o' of astonishment.
"My dream daddy?" she breathed, her voice full of awe.
Tears sprang to Evie's eyes. "Yes, sweetpea. Your dream daddy."
"Is he the castle man?" Luna pressed, her excitement building.
Before Evie could answer, Leo spoke, his voice small but clear. "Where has he been?"
The question, so simple and so profound, felt like a knife to Evie's heart.
She looked at her son, at the intelligence and the hurt already clouding his eyes.
"He… didn't know about us. It was a… a very big mistake. But he knows now. And he wanted to come and meet you more than anything in the world."
"Is he here?" Luna scrambled to her knees, peering toward the front door. "Is he outside?"
Evie's fifteen minutes were up. She could feel it in the tension radiating from Sebastian, in the oppressive stillness from beyond the door. "Yes, baby. He's outside."
Luna gasped, her little hands flying to her mouth. Leo's grip on Evie's hand tightened.
"He's a little… scary to look at," Evie warned them softly, brushing a lock of hair from Leo's forehead. "And he's very tall, and he doesn't smile much. But…" She searched for a truth she could give them, a truth she was only just beginning to believe herself. "But I think, deep down, he's very nervous to meet you."
This seemed to resonate with Leo. He understood nervous.
A firm, quiet knock sounded on the door.
Sebastian looked at Evie, a silent question in his eyes. She gave a tiny, jerky nod.
This was it.
The door opened, and Lysander Crowe filled the frame. He had to duck his head slightly to clear the doorway.
He'd removed his suit jacket and tie, the rolled-up sleeves of his white shirt doing little to soften the sheer, intimidating power of his presence.
He stood there, just inside her humble home, his mercury eyes sweeping the room, the worn rug, the crayon drawings taped to the wall, the overstuffed bookshelves before his gaze landed, with the force of a physical blow, on the children.
He was perfectly still, his face an unreadable mask of stone. But Evie, who had seen the crack in his armor, saw the rapid pulse at the base of his throat. She saw the way his hands, hanging at his sides, were curled into white-knuckled fists.
Luna stared, her earlier bravado vanishing into sheer, open-mouthed shock. She shrank back against Evie's side.
Leo met his father's gaze head-on. The two sets of identical silver eyes locked across the room, one pair filled with a lifetime of guarded cynicism, the other with the wary curiosity of a child seeing his own reflection in a strange, adult form.
The world held its breath.
It was Leo who broke the silence. His voice was a tiny, steady beacon in the overwhelming tension.
"You have my eyes," he said.
A tremor went through Lysander's frame. The stone mask fractured, just for an instant, revealing a glimpse of sheer, unadulterated wonder. He took a single, hesitant step forward, his gaze fixed on his son.
"Yes," Lysander replied, his voice a rough, hushed whisper, as if he were in a sacred space. "I suppose I do."