Lily’s tiny hand tightened around mine.

I gently squeezed it back.

“You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

For the first time since I had met them, Owen looked up at me.

“Will she come back?”

I answered honestly.

“I don’t know.”

“But I promise you this.”

“I won’t leave you sitting here alone.”

Meanwhile, airport security had already sealed the jet bridge.

The aircraft doors reopened.

Minutes later, officers escorted the woman in the beige coat back into the terminal.

She looked annoyed rather than frightened.

“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.

Then she saw the twins beside me.

Her expression hardened.

“I already told them.”

“They’re not my responsibility anymore.”

Several passengers stopped walking.

Phones immediately came out.

I stood.

“You’re abandoning two five-year-old children.”

She folded her arms.

“They’re my late husband’s kids.”

“I’ve done enough.”

“The insurance money is gone.”

“I have my own life now.”

The words echoed through the terminal.

Lily lowered her head.

Clearly…

She had heard those words before.

An airport police officer stepped forward.

“Ma’am, we’ll need you to explain.”

She laughed coldly.

“I have legal documents.”

“They’re going into state care anyway.”

She confidently pulled a thick envelope from her handbag.

“I surrendered custody yesterday.”

The officer examined the paperwork.

Everything appeared official.

Marco looked at me.

“There isn’t much we can do.”

I remained silent.

Then I made another phone call.

“Bring me the probate file.”

Twenty minutes later, my chief legal officer arrived carrying a locked briefcase.

Inside were certified court records.

I placed one document on top of the woman’s custody papers.

“This is your late husband’s estate.”

She smiled confidently.

“I know.”

“I inherited everything.”

I turned another page.

“No.”

“You inherited nothing.”

Her smile disappeared.

The court order clearly stated that every business, investment account, trust fund, and insurance policy had been placed into an irrevocable trust.

For only two beneficiaries.

Owen.

And Lily.

The assets couldn’t be touched until they reached adulthood.

The woman stared at the papers.

“That’s impossible.”

“It is if you never finished reading your husband’s will.”

She suddenly lunged toward the children.

“They’re lying!”

“They’re stealing my life!”

Security officers restrained her before she reached them.

As they searched her handbag, one officer pulled out a passport.

Then another.

Then two brand-new one-way tickets.

Not for herself.

For Owen and Lily.

Issued under completely different names.

The officer slowly looked up.

“Mr. Steel…”

“These children weren’t abandoned.”

“They were about to disappear.”

At that exact moment, my phone rang.

The caller ID displayed the name of the federal investigator I had contacted years earlier.

His first sentence made every person standing there freeze.

“Ryker… don’t let those children out of your sight.”

“They’re the last living witnesses in a homicide investigation that was never solved.”

Read Part 2 below.