The tension broke the moment the door opened.
"Mama, look!" Claire lit up, eyes landing on the two familiar faces behind Georgia. "Freya! Jonah!"
Before anyone could react, she ran straight to them, arms wide, laughter bubbling up as the three kids collided in a joyful hug.
Georgia stepped in a few seconds later, smiling as she watched the reunion. She met Cassidy’s eyes and gave her a brief, tired smile.
"Hey," she said softly.
Cass stood and hugged her. "Hey."
Then Georgia turned to her brothers. "Sandro. Raymond."
"Georgia," Raymond said with a nod.
Sandro gave her a faint smile. "You’re just in time."
She glanced at their mother lying still on the hospital bed, then back to them. "Sorry, traffic was a mess."
Raymond waved it off. "You’re here now."
For a few seconds, they all just stood there, four grown siblings in one room again, something that hadn’t happened in years. The sound of the children laughing in the corner felt like something sacred. Something rare.
Cass watched Claire laugh with her cousins, her chest tightening a little. The weight of the unspoken still hung in the room.
As the kids played quietly in the corner, Georgia glanced at her brothers and smiled knowingly.
"So you guys finally met Claire, huh?" she said, a teasing lilt in her voice. "Cute, isn’t she?"
Raymond nodded with a soft smile. "She is. Very polite too."
"She’s got this... calm, sweet energy," Sandro added, surprising even himself with how fond he sounded.
Georgia turned to Cassidy, her voice warm. "You’ve done a really good job with her, Cass."
Cassidy glanced at them, a little caught off guard by the praise.
"She’s a great kid," Sandro said. "It shows."
Raymond nodded again. "You raised her well."
Cassidy didn’t say much, just gave a quiet, grateful smile. The kind that said more than words.
And for a moment, everything felt a little lighter.
As night began to fall, Cassidy and Georgia rose quietly from their chairs. The hospital room was still, save for the soft hum of machines. Kyra, Sandro’s wife, had just arrived to take over for the evening.
Cassidy gave her a small, tired smile.
"Kyra," she said gently. "We’re heading out. Thank you for being here."
Kyra returned the smile warmly. "Of course. It’s no problem at all. You two go rest."
Georgia nodded. "Let us know if anything changes tonight."
"I will," Kyra assured them. "Drive safe."
Earlier, both Sandro and Raymond had left. They’d decided it was time to hire a professional nurse to help care for their mother, someone who could be there round the clock. The nurse would start tomorrow.
Nina, Raymond’s wife, was still out of town, back in the city where they lived with their children. Raymond had rushed to New York alone when he heard the news, leaving everything else behind.
As Cassidy and Georgia exited the hospital with their kids, they were immediately met with a chorus of eager voices.
"Mommy!" Claire tugged on Cassidy’s hand. "Can we get ice cream now? Please?"
"Ice cream!" Jonah echoed, practically bouncing next to Freya.
Freya crossed her arms and grinned. "We’ve been so good. You have to take us."
Georgia raised her brows at Cassidy with a laugh. "I guess we don’t have a choice."
Cassidy smiled, her heart a little lighter. "There’s a café nearby. Let’s go."
Fifteen minutes later, they were seated at a small, cozy café just down the street, warm yellow lights glowing against the cool evening.
Claire sat between Freya and Jonah, her legs swinging under the table, happily clutching a chocolate cone.
"This is the best!" Claire declared with a chocolate-covered smile.
Freya rolled her eyes, teasing. "You say that every time."
"Because it is the best every time!" Claire insisted, giggling.
Cassidy watched her daughter, something soft filling her chest.
Not far from where Cassidy and Georgia sat with the kids, a man sat at a corner table, half-hidden by a tall indoor plant. He was watching them, quietly, curiously, without their knowledge.
Across from him sat a woman with sharp features and a chic short haircut. Her arms were folded across her chest, her expression unimpressed.
She narrowed her eyes, then reached across the table and pinched his arm. "What are you doing?" she hissed. "Why do you keep staring at that table? Are those women prettier than me?"
Andrew flinched and rubbed his arm. "No! Of course not. You’re way prettier."
"Then why are you staring?"
"I just... I recognize someone."
Karen raised an eyebrow. "You know them?"
Andrew nodded slightly, lowering his voice. "The one in the blue dress. I know her."
Karen twisted in her seat, peeking over her shoulder toward Cassidy and Georgia’s table. "Who is she?"
"She’s... my boss’s ex-wife."
Karen’s eyes widened. "Her?" she gasped, instinctively raising a finger to point. "The one who—"
Andrew quickly grabbed her hand and yanked it down. "Don’t point!"
Karen blinked. "Sorry. So that’s the woman your boss was searching for, right? The one he tried to find for two years before he just gave up?"
Andrew nodded again, eyes never leaving Cassidy. "Yeah. That’s her."
Karen leaned in, voice hushed but urgent. "Do you think he knows she’s here?"
"I don’t know..." Andrew muttered. "Maybe not."
Karen exhaled. "You’re not gonna call him, are you?"
Instead, he pulled out his phone.
Karen slapped his arm. "Are you serious? You’re not going to take a picture, are you? That’s so invasive!"
Andrew shot her a glare. "It’s just for him. I won’t post it or anything."
But before Andrew could lift his phone, Cassidy and Georgia were already standing, gathering the kids and heading for the door.
Andrew quickly raised his phone and caught a blurry shot of Cassidy’s back as she walked away, hand-in-hand with a little girl.
He stared at the image for a long moment.
His thumb hovered over his boss’s contact.
Zeke seemed fine now. He’d finally moved on, at least on the surface.
Would telling him just reopen old wounds?
Andrew sat frozen, thumb hovering over the "Call" button for what felt like forever.
He knew what he shouldn’t do. He shouldn’t drag the past back in. He shouldn’t throw a bomb into the life Zeke had carefully rebuilt over the last few years.
But his curiosity, and maybe something else, something deeper, kept tugging at him.
Finally, he made a deal with himself.
If Zeke answered, he’d tell him.
If he didn’t... maybe it was a sign to let it go.
He tapped the call button.
Come on, don’t pick up.
Andrew exhaled, relieved. That was it, then. It wasn’t meant to be.
Maybe leaving Zeke in the dark was the kinder thing to do.
He started putting his phone away.
The phone lit up in his hand.
He swallowed hard, thumb trembling slightly as he accepted the call.
"Hello?" Zeke’s voice came through, calm but curious. "You called?"
Andrew looked out the café window, heart thudding.
There was no turning back now.
"Yeah," he said slowly. "I saw someone... someone I think you’ll want to know about."
"Who?" Zeke asked, his voice calm, but sharp with curiosity. "Who did you see, Andrew?"
Andrew opened his mouth. "It was—"
Suddenly, the phone was yanked out of his hand.
The screen went black.
He whipped around. "Karen! What the hell?!"
She stood there, arms crossed, eyes blazing. "Seriously, Andrew? Were you really about to tell him?"
He stared at her, stunned. "I was on a call. Did you not see that?"
"I saw." She snapped. "I also saw you lose your damn mind. Didn’t you say his ex-wife disappeared? That she left America without a trace? Did it ever occur to you that maybe she didn’t want to be found?"
Andrew ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "So what? She’s back. That means she’s ready to be found."
Karen shook her head in disbelief. "Not by you. Not by her ex-husband’s best friend. You don’t know what happened between them, Andrew. Maybe she left for a reason. Maybe she deserves a life without all that crap following her."
Andrew sighed, deflating a little. "I wasn’t going to cause trouble. I just thought he should know."
"Why?" Karen demanded. "Because you’re nosy? Because he’s your boss? That man’s moved on. Let her move on too."
Andrew didn’t reply. Just stared down at his phone, jaw tight.
"I won’t say anything," he muttered. "Fine. Happy?"
Karen raised an eyebrow. "Depends. Are you calling him again?"
"I have to," he said, already dialing. "I need to explain why I hung up on him."
"Make something up, then," Karen said, sitting back down with a huff. "And leave her out of it."
This time, when Zeke picked up, his voice was noticeably colder. "You called back?"
"Yeah," Andrew said quickly. "Sorry about before. Someone bumped into me. I was just gonna say, I saw your favorite singer. That jazz guy you used to like? Random, I know. Thought you’d wanna hear."
There was a long pause.
Then: "You called me for that?" Zeke scoffed. "Don’t waste my time, Andrew. Seriously."
Andrew sighed, slipping his phone into his jacket pocket.
Karen didn’t say anything.
And for the first time in years, Andrew wasn’t sure if he had done the right thing by staying silent.