“Stepping in?” I let out a harsh, bitter laugh, squeezing my sisters’ shoulders to keep them close. “You abandoned two infants. I broke my back in warehouses and construction sites for seven years to give them a life while you were out living yours. You don’t get to just walk back in with a few expensive bags and play house.”
Eleanor sighed, crossing her arms and smoothing down her designer coat. She didn’t look guilty. She looked bored. “Look, Leo, let’s be practical. I married well. My husband is a very wealthy developer, but unfortunately, we can’t have children of our own. He’s reaching an age where he wants an heir—someone to carry on the family legacy and inherit the estate.”
A cold dread began to pool in the bottom of my stomach. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about a business arrangement that benefits everyone,” she said smoothly, as if she were negotiating a real estate contract rather than the lives of my sisters. “My husband wants a son, but when I told him about the twins, he agreed they would be perfect. I’m taking the girls back with me. They’ll go to private schools, have trust funds, and live in a mansion.”
