Chapter 3 Face to Face

The top floor of Anderson Industries was nothing like the small apartment where the triplets lived.

Everything was white and gray and silver. The walls were glass. The furniture looked like it had been designed by someone who thought comfort was less important than looking expensive. There was a big desk where a woman with red lips and a tight bun sat typing very fast on a computer.

The woman didn't notice the three small children at first.

"Excuse me," Alex said, using his most grown-up voice. "We would like to see Mr. Sean Anderson."

The woman looked up. Her eyes went wide. She looked at the children like they had appeared out of nowhere with magic.

"Do your parents know you're here?" she asked.

"We need to see Mr. Anderson," Alex said again. He didn't answer her question.

The woman stood up. "You can't just walk in here. This is a private office. How did you even—"

"Is Mr. Anderson in his office?" Ben interrupted, pointing at the big wooden door behind her desk.

"No, you cannot—"

But Alex was already walking toward the door.

"Wait! Stop!" the woman said, coming around her desk. But she was slow, and the children were fast and small.

Alex pushed open the door.

Inside was a large office with windows that showed the whole city. And sitting behind an enormous desk covered with papers was the man from the photograph.

Sean Anderson.

He looked up from his work. His eyes were cold and dark like a frozen lake. For a moment, he didn't say anything. He just stared at the three children like they were a problem he had to solve.

"Who the hell let you in here?" he said.

"We did," Alex said calmly. "My name is Alex. This is my brother Ben and my sister Claudia. We think you're our father."

Sean Anderson's face didn't change. Not even a little bit. He just stared at them with those cold eyes.

"Get out of my office," he said. His voice was quiet but very serious. "Now."

"We're not leaving until you listen to us," Alex said. He was small and five years old, but he sounded older. He sounded like someone who meant what he said.

Sean leaned back in his chair. "I don't know who you are, and I don't care. Your parents sent you to con me, didn't they? I've seen this before. Poor people bringing their children to rich people and asking for money. Well, it won't work. Security!"

He pressed a button on his desk.

"You don't know our mother," Alex said quickly, before security arrived. "Her name is Molly May. You knew her six years ago."

Something flickered in Sean's eyes. Something that looked like recognition. But it was gone so fast that maybe the children just imagined it.

"I've never heard of a Molly May," Sean said. His voice was harder now, like he was lying.

"Yes, you have," Ben said. He was holding a piece of paper—the one with Sean's name written on the back of the hospital document. He held it up.

Sean's whole body went stiff. He grabbed the paper from Ben's hand.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded.

"From Mommy's bag," Claudia said honestly.

Two security guards had arrived, but Sean held up his hand. "Wait outside," he told them. "Close the door."

When they were alone again, Sean looked at the paper for a long time. His jaw was very tight. A muscle in his cheek kept moving, like he was angry or scared or both.

"This proves nothing," he said finally. "This could be fake. You could have written this name yourself."

"We're five years old," Alex said. "We can barely write. And look at us. Really look at us."

Sean looked at the children. Really looked at them, like Alex said.

And he couldn't deny what he saw.

They had his eyes. The exact same shape and color. They had his dark hair. They had the same way of standing, with their chins slightly up and their shoulders back. They were like mini versions of him.

"This is impossible," Sean said. "I have lived a clean life. I have never had physical contact with a woman that would result in... I mean, I have never been with anyone."

"That's a lie," Alex said. "And you know it. You know our mommy. You might not remember, but your body must remember. You gave us your DNA. Science doesn't lie, and that's a fact."

Ben nodded. "Yeah. DNA is like... it's like proof. Real proof."

Sean stood up and walked to the window. His hands were shaking a little. He looked out at the city for a long time without saying anything.

"How much money does your mother want?" he asked finally.

"We don't want your money," Claudia said. "We want to know why you don't remember Mommy."

Sean turned around. "That's enough. I'm calling security back in. You need to leave this building and never come back. And if anyone asks you, you never saw me. Do you understand?"

"We're not going anywhere," Alex said. "Not until you tell us the truth. Not until you tell us what happened between you and Mommy."

Sean's face went red. "I don't remember anything because nothing happened! There is nothing to remember! Now get out before I make you get out!"

He pressed the button on his desk again.

But as the security guards came back in and moved toward the children, Alex saw something. A tiny scar on Sean's back, visible where his expensive white shirt had pulled open.

The same scar Alex had felt in his mother's dream.

"Mommy was right," Alex whispered to Ben and Claudia as the guards guided them toward the door. "He does know her. He just doesn't want to admit it."

As they were being pushed out of the office, Sean watched them go. And for just a moment, he closed his eyes like he was remembering som

ething he had worked very hard to forget.

Something important.

Something that changed everything.