Chapter 22

Daisy tilted her head to study him. "We've met someone who looks exactly like us too."

"Oh?" Theodore Goldmann's question was interrupted by the booming voice of the security guard stationed near the rose bushes. "Good afternoon, Mr. Goldmann."

Nathan strode into the garden pavilion with purposeful steps. His gaze immediately landed on the two children seated beside his father. "Dad, you can't just bring random children here without consulting me first."

"And why ever not?" The elder Goldmann chuckled, ruffling Daisy's golden curls. "When I saw how much they resemble you, I simply had to invite them over. Is that a crime?"

He handed each child a slice of decadent chocolate cake topped with fresh strawberries. "Try this, my dears. The pastry chef prepared it specially this morning."

"Thanks, Grandpa!"

Liam accepted his portion politely while Daisy immediately sank her teeth into the treat, frosting smearing across her cheeks.

Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose. Only his father would kidnap children based on a passing resemblance.

"Stay right here, my little cherubs." The old man rose gracefully. "Grandpa needs to have a quick word with your... uncle."

As the two men disappeared down the marble pathway, Daisy turned to Liam with frosting-covered lips. "Do you think he really is our grandpa? He seems to like us an awful lot."

Liam nodded thoughtfully. "If Grandpa approves of us, convincing Daddy to come home should be easy." Meanwhile, in the oak-paneled study...

"Father, those children can't possibly be mine. You shouldn't have brought them here without contacting their parents first. What if—"

"What am I, a kidnapper?" Theodore waved away his son's concerns. "I don't care whose children they are. Those bright young things have charmed me completely."

He settled behind his antique mahogany desk, fixing Nathan with a stern look. "You're not getting any younger, son. If you'd settled down properly, I could have grandchildren their age by now."

Nathan remained silent.

"Tell me truthfully - are you absolutely certain you've never fathered children? Because young Liam Vanderbilt's eyes and Daisy Vanderbilt's smile... they're unmistakably Goldmann features."

Nathan froze. "What did you say their last name was?"

Vanderbilt? Not Van Der Beek?

"You didn't even bother checking their information when it was right in front of you?" Theodore tapped the manila folder on his desk.

He'd dispatched investigators to Royal Crown Academy the moment he'd seen the children's photograph.

Nathan scanned the documents - Names: Liam Vanderbilt and Daisy Vanderbilt, both aged five years old!

A sudden knock interrupted them. Daisy peeked through the doorway, clutching an ornate chess set. "Grandpa, will you play chess with me?"

The old man's stern expression melted instantly. "Of course, my dear! Nothing would give me greater pleasure."

Without a backward glance at his son, Theodore followed the little girl back to the garden.

Nathan stared at the retreating figures before turning his attention back to the papers. He hadn't checked their surnames before, but now...

Vanderbilts. Both five years old.

Five years. If Vivian had been pregnant six years ago, after a full-term pregnancy, the child would be exactly five now.

But Vivian had never been pregnant. The woman in that room six years ago was supposed to be Vivian... so what had really happened?

Nathan moved to the French windows overlooking the garden. The children sat at the wrought-iron table, engaged in a lively chess match with his father. Liam stood protectively behind Daisy, his serious expression making him look like a miniature bodyguard.

"Daisy, who taught you to play so well?" Theodore asked as she captured his bishop.

"Mommy!" Daisy beamed with pride. "She knows all kinds of games - chess, checkers, even nine men's morris!"

The old man's laughter rang across the manicured lawns. "How refreshing! I thought modern children only knew how to stare at screens all day."