But tonight, something was off.

There was no silence. Instead, faint sounds—soft breathing, a low hum, and the steady rhythm of two tiny heartbeats—drew him toward the living room. He frowned. The twins should have been asleep in their nursery upstairs, carefully watched by their night nurse.

Cautiously, Ethan stepped closer, his polished shoes sinking into the carpet. And then he froze.

For illustrative purposes only

On the floor, in the warm glow of the lamp, lay a young woman in a turquoise uniform. Her head rested against a folded towel, her dark lashes brushing her cheeks as she slept deeply. Curled up against her sides were his two six-month-old boys—his precious twins—wrapped in soft blankets, their tiny fists clinging to her arms.