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.

“Can I ask your name?”

“Isla,” she whispered.

“And the babies?”

“Theo and Silas.”

I nodded. “Isla… I need to understand what happened.”

Her fingers tightened around the blanket. “I wasn’t looking for you. I didn’t even know your name until… until Mom told me before she…” Her voice broke.

Pieces clicked into place—too slowly.

“Your mother?” I asked quietly.

She nodded. “Carolyn Benton.”

I sank into the chair beside her bed, every memory from twenty years ago crashing back like a wave I wasn’t ready for.

Carolyn. The girl with the quiet smile who left without saying goodbye.

“I came because she told me you were the only person she ever trusted,” Isla said, voice trembling. “She told me you didn’t know about me. And she told me that if anything happened to her, I should find you.”

My throat tightened.

“Isla… are you saying…”

“Yes,” she whispered. “You’re my father.”

CHAPTER 3: THE TRUTH THAT CAN’T WAIT
I didn’t want to believe it too easily. Too many people try to manipulate men with power. But Isla didn’t look like someone running a scheme—she looked like someone running for her life.