SKYLAR'S POV
The private jet touched down just before noon.
For ten years, I had imagined this moment.
Sometimes, in my dreams, I would run straight into Mum's arms. Other times, I imagined walking through the mansion gates and finding everyone waiting for me.
But never once had I imagined returning home with a photograph of three mysterious infants, a silver case full of secrets, and the knowledge that someone had taken my mother.
I pressed my forehead against the window.
The Pantoshi estate appeared in the distance, its familiar gates rising behind a line of towering trees.
Home.
I should have felt happy.
Instead, fear sat heavily in my chest.
What if Mum wasn't there?
What if the message had been a trap?
What if I was already too late?
"Miss Pantoshi, we've arrived," the pilot announced.
I picked up my bag.
"Thank you."
The moment I stepped onto the tarmac, I saw Damien standing beside a black car.
He looked older than I remembered. There were faint lines around his eyes, and his once-dark hair held a few strands of grey.
But his expression—
It was the same one I remembered from childhood.
The expression of a man who had spent years waiting for someone.
"Skylar."
I barely had time to put my bag down before he pulled me into his arms.
For a moment, I stood stiffly.
Then I wrapped my arms around him.
"Uncle Damien."
He held me tighter.
"Look at you," he whispered. "You've grown up."
I laughed shakily.
"That's what happens when you leave a child in Russia for ten years."
He pulled away just enough to look at me.
Pain crossed his face.
"I know."
I wanted to ask him why he'd allowed it. Why he hadn't fought harder to bring me home. Why my mother had let me spend my childhood so far away.
But before I could speak, a voice rang out from behind him.
"IS THAT BIG SIS?"
I turned.
Four children came racing down the front steps.
Three boys and a little girl.
They were so fast that the maid chasing them nearly stumbled over the steps.
"Slow down!" she called. "Your father said you mustn't run!"
None of them listened.
The first boy reached me and stopped abruptly, staring up at my face.
He had Damien's eyes and Mum's smile.
The second boy pushed past him.
"Move! I want to see her!"
"You've already seen her!"
"Not properly!"
The third boy folded his arms and examined me with exaggerated seriousness.
"Are you really our big sister?"
I blinked.
Before I could answer, the little girl rushed forward and wrapped both arms around my waist.
"Big Sis!"
My heart stopped.
She looked up at me with enormous, curious eyes.
"I'm Ava," she announced proudly. "These are my brothers. They're annoying, but they're my brothers, so you can't send them away."
I stared at her.
Then I laughed.
It was a real laugh, one that surprised even me.
"I wasn't planning to send anyone away."
"Good!" Ava declared.
One of the boys tugged at my sleeve.
"I'm Noah."
"I'm Nathan," another interrupted.
"I'm Nicholas," the third said, looking offended that the others had spoken before him.
I looked from one face to another.
Three boys.
One girl.
My mother's children.
My siblings.
They had grown up while I was gone. They had learned to walk, talk, laugh, and fight over toys without me. They had celebrated birthdays I hadn't attended and made memories in a house I barely recognized anymore.
I expected questions.
I expected suspicion.
I expected them to look at me as a stranger.
Instead, Ava squeezed me tighter.
"Are you staying with us now, Big Sis?"
Something inside me cracked.
I crouched until we were eye to eye.
"Yes," I whispered. "I'm staying."
"Forever?"
I brushed a loose strand of hair from her forehead.
"Forever, if you'll have me."
Ava gave me a look as though I'd asked the most ridiculous question in the world.
"Of course! You're our big sister!"
The boys nodded enthusiastically.
"Can you teach us how to fight?" Noah asked.
"Noah!" Damien barked.
"What? Dad said she's trained in Russia."
Nathan leaned closer to me.
"Can you really beat up grown men?"
Nicholas crossed his arms.
"I bet I can beat her."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Would you like to test that theory?"
His eyes widened.
The other boys burst into laughter.
"No!" Nicholas protested. "I mean, not today."
I laughed again.
And for the first time since receiving that terrible phone call, the tightness in my chest loosened.
They didn't care that I'd been gone for ten years.
They didn't ask why I hadn't been there.
They didn't demand an explanation for the years they couldn't remember sharing with me.
They simply made room for me.
As though I had always belonged.
Ava reached for my hand.
"Come inside, Big Sis. We've prepared your room."
"My room?"
"Yes! Dad said you were coming home, so we helped the maids."
Damien cleared his throat.
"Helped is a generous description. They emptied half the toy cupboard into your bedroom."
"It was a welcome gift!" Nathan protested.
"And I chose the curtains!" Ava added.
I looked at Damien.
He smiled.
"Welcome home, Skylar."
I looked at the four children holding my hands and tugging at my sleeves.
For ten years, I had thought of home as a place I had lost.
Perhaps I had been wrong.
Perhaps home could be a place you returned to—and a place where people loved you before you had the chance to prove you deserved it.
I squeezed Ava's hand.
"Lead the way, little one."
She beamed.
"Come on, Big Sis!"
The boys raced ahead, arguing over who would show me the room first.
I followed them through the front doors.
And for one precious moment, I allowed myself to believe that I had finally come home.
Then my phone vibrated inside my pocket.
I glanced at the screen.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: ENJOY YOUR FAMILY WHILE YOU CAN. YOUR MOTHER'S TIME IS RUNNING OUT.
My smile disappeared.
I slipped the phone away before the children could notice.
They had welcomed me into their hearts.
Now I had to make sure nobody took their mother away from them.
Because I had already lost ten years with mine.
I would not let them lose her too.