He threw her out onto the street pregnant, believing she had been unfaithful: 10 years later, a red light showed him 4 pairs of eyes identical to his own and he discovered the truth that brought him to his knees.

“Get out!” he had shouted as she sobbed, hands over her stomach. “I never want to see you—or those children—again!”

She had left without taking a dollar, promising he would regret it. He never searched for her. He convinced himself he had been wronged.

Now four pairs of green eyes stared at him from a forgotten sidewalk.

“What are your names?” he asked quietly.

“I’m Ava,” said the eldest. “These are Chloe, Harper, and Lily.”

“And your mother?”

The girls exchanged a heavy look.

“She’s working,” Ava said.

“In jail,” Lily whispered before her sister could stop her.

Alexander felt dizzy. “Why?”

“For stealing milk and medicine when Harper had pneumonia,” Ava replied, fierce and protective. “She’ll be out soon.”

Alexander rolled the window up, struggling to breathe.

“Cancel dinner,” he told Marcus. “Call private investigator Donovan. I want everything. Immediately.”

The report arrived the next morning. Alexander locked himself in his office with a glass of whiskey.

Isabella Cruz. Serving three years for repeated petty theft. Currently at Valley State Prison.

Birth certificates of four minors. Father: Unknown. Dates perfectly aligned with the time before their separation.

Then the medical file.