And in the center of the lawn—
His twin sons.
Standing.
Not steady. Not perfect. But standing.
Ethan’s breath vanished.
“No… no, this isn’t real,” he whispered.
The maid—Maria—was kneeling in the grass, yellow rubber gloves on her hands, tears on her face.
“Easy, sweetheart,” she whispered gently.
“That’s it. One more step.”
One boy—Lucas—gritted his teeth.
“I’m doing it, Mari!” he said proudly.
“I know you are,” she smiled. “You’re so strong.”
The other twin, Noah, laughed—a sound Ethan hadn’t heard in months.
“Daddy’s gonna freak out,” Noah giggled.
Lucas took one shaky step. Then another.
And suddenly both boys collapsed into Maria’s arms, laughing and crying at the same time.
“We did it!” Lucas yelled.
“We stood up!”
Ethan’s car keys slipped from his hand and hit the stone path.
Clang.
Maria looked up—terrified.
“Oh—Mr. Cole,” she whispered. “I can explain—”
Ethan dropped to his knees.
“How?” he choked.
“How are they standing?”
Lucas beamed.
“Daddy! Look! I’m big now!”
Ethan touched his son’s legs, hands trembling.
“They’re warm,” he whispered. “They’re strong…”
He looked at Maria.
“The doctors said never,” he said hoarsely.
“What did you do?”
Maria swallowed.