CHAPTER 2: THE FOUR SISTERS
CHAPTER 2: THE FOUR SISTERS
"Their parents died six months ago."
The kitchen fell silent.
Even the sound of rain against the windows seemed to disappear.
Owen looked toward the dining table.
Four little girls sat side by side, eating grilled cheese sandwiches as if they weren't entirely sure the food was real.
Issa had fallen asleep with half a sandwich in her hand.
Bella kept slipping pieces of food into her pocket.
Saving them for later.
Because hungry children learn habits that full stomachs cannot erase.
Richard continued quietly.
"The state placed them with an aunt."
Owen frowned.
"Placed?"
Richard nodded.
"She abandoned them three weeks ago."
The words hit harder than Owen expected.
Abandoned.
Not lost.
Not separated.
Abandoned.
Sophie looked up suddenly.
She had heard.
Children always hear.
Especially the things adults wish they wouldn't.
"She said we cost too much."
The room froze.
Owen slowly sat across from her.
"What happened?"
The six-year-old stared at her plate.
Then the story came out.
Not all at once.
In pieces.
The aunt stopped buying groceries.
Stopped paying attention.
Locked them in rooms.
Eventually she disappeared entirely.
The sisters survived on crackers, vending machines, and whatever Sophie could find.
For three weeks.
Three weeks.
The oldest child was six.
Owen excused himself and walked into the hallway.
Not because he was angry.
Because he suddenly couldn't breathe.
He remembered foster homes.
Remembered hunger.
Remembered adults who looked away.
The next morning child services arrived.
A caseworker named Hannah reviewed everything.
The girls were scheduled to enter emergency foster placement.
Separate placements.
Different homes.
Different schools.
Different lives.
Sophie immediately stood.
"No."
Hannah sighed gently.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart."
"No."
Sophie grabbed Bella's hand.
Then Luma's.
Then sleeping little Issa's.
"We stay together."
Owen watched the fear return to their faces.
The same fear he had seen under the streetlamp.
The fear of losing each other.
That afternoon he made a decision.
A reckless one.
A complicated one.
A life-changing one.
He filed emergency guardianship paperwork.
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And for the first time in years, he wanted something more than another billion-dollar deal.
He wanted those girls to feel safe.
