I found a young woman half-frozen in the park with two babies clinging to her — and when she whispered, “Please don’t let him find us,” I didn’t realize I was seconds away from a truth tied to my own past.

“Gage!” I yelled toward my security assistant standing near the event setup tents. “We need help—now!”

He sprinted over. Together, we wrapped the infants inside my coat and lifted the girl carefully.

“We should call the paramedics,” he said.

“No time,” I answered. “My place is five minutes away. Dr. Hayes can meet us there.”

We hurried to the car, the early morning fog swallowing our footsteps.

I didn’t know it yet, but my entire life was about to change.

CHAPTER 2: A HOUSE TURNED INTO A SANCTUARY
When we reached my Pacific Heights home, Dr. Hayes was already stepping inside with a medical bag. The man moved fast, and this morning, he didn’t waste a second.

For the next few hours, the house was filled with hurried footsteps, blankets warming in the dryer, soft cries from the infants as they regained energy, and short, tense instructions from Hayes.

I waited in the hallway, staring out the window at the slow sunrise, my hands still trembling with leftover adrenaline.

Finally, Hayes opened the door.

“They’re stable,” he said. “All three of them. The babies were dangerously cold, but they’re strong.” He lowered his voice. “The girl… she has old bruises. Signs of stress and exhaustion.”

I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. “I need to talk to her when she wakes.”

“You will. Just be gentle.”

When I stepped into the room, she was sitting upright, a blanket pulled around her shoulders. Her eyes lifted slowly toward me, guarded but alert.

“I’m Logan,” I said softly. “You’re safe here.”

She didn’t answer, but she didn’t look away either.