Angelena tightened her grip on her daughters' hands as they navigated the crowded terminal. Her phone suddenly buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out. It was Justice Koch, her executive assistant, calling to coordinate the pickup.
"I'm near Terminal 4," Angelena said, looking up at the overhead signs.
Brigida tugged hard on the hem of Angelena's white blazer. "Mommy," she piped up, her voice sweet and urgent. "I need to go to the bathroom."
Angelena looked down, a soft, indulgent smile breaking her professional facade. She parked the luggage cart right outside the women's restroom entrance. "Go together. Hold hands. I'll be right here facing the door."
She turned her back to the restroom entrance to block the foot traffic, pressing the phone back to her ear to continue giving Justice directions.
Inside the restroom, Brigida and Domenica washed their hands at the low sinks. Just as Domenica reached for a paper towel, the door to the handicap stall swung open.
Two boys stepped out. They wore identical, high-end tailored mini-suits, complete with sunglasses and baseball caps.
The four five-year-olds froze. They stared at each other in the large mirror. Aside from their clothes and hairstyles, their facial features were a terrifying, exact copy of one another.
Foy, the older of the boys, lowered his sunglasses. His cool, calculating eyes widened slightly. "Why do you look exactly like me?" he demanded, his tone far too serious for a child.
Domenica giggled, sticking her tongue out playfully. Before she could answer, the heavy sound of synchronized, rapid footsteps echoed from the hallway outside.
Atherton, the elderly butler of the Richmond family, rushed into the restroom's outer vestibule, sweating profusely. Two massive bodyguards in black trench coats flanked him. They were in a state of absolute panic searching for their missing young masters.
Atherton's aging eyes scanned the area. He saw the backs of two children wearing neutral overalls and dark baseball caps pulled low over their foreheads, completely hiding their long hair. From behind, their silhouettes were identical to the young masters. In his frantic state, he didn't look twice. He lunged forward.
"Thank the heavens I found you!" Atherton gasped. He scooped up Brigida and Domenica, one under each arm. Without waiting for a response, he spun around and sprinted toward the exit, the bodyguards forming a wall behind him.
"Let me go, you crazy old man!" Brigida screamed, kicking her legs wildly. But her voice was completely muffled by the thick fabric of the bodyguards' coats and the blaring, high-decibel automated boarding announcements echoing through the outer vestibule as they rushed out.
Inside the restroom, Foy and Leland peeked around the corner of the sink. They stared at the empty space where the girls had just been.
Leland rubbed his eyes. "Foy, where did those girls go?"
Outside, Angelena hung up the phone and turned around. She caught a fleeting glimpse of a group of men in black suits rushing away, but she thought nothing of it. She assumed her daughters were still inside.
She waited another sixty seconds. Just as she took a step toward the restroom door, Justice Koch came sprinting through the crowd, pushing a second luggage cart, completely out of breath.
"Ms. Beasley!" Justice cried out, throwing her arms around Angelena in a tight hug. "I can't believe we are finally back. After five grueling years of you working day and night in those underground European labs, building this biotech firm from absolute scratch, the new drug trial results are in, they are phenomenal!"
Angelena smiled, distracted by the news.
At that exact moment, Foy and Leland walked out of the restroom, holding hands. Their caps were pulled low, sunglasses back on.
Justice caught sight of the two small figures out of the corner of her eye. Without missing a beat, she reached down and grabbed both boys by the hands. "Look how much you two have grown!" she beamed, not looking closely at their faces.
Foy frowned deeply. He tried to yank his hand away, but Leland gripped his brother's sleeve tightly. Leland was staring up at Angelena's profile. A bizarre, overwhelming sense of comfort washed over him.
Leland leaned in and whispered to Foy, "She smells so good."
Angelena, still reading the trial data on Justice's tablet, gave a distracted nod. She reached down, took Leland's free hand, and strode confidently toward the airport exit.
Meanwhile, Atherton practically threw the two struggling girls into the back of an extended Lincoln Navigator. He slammed the door shut and locked it, collapsing against the leather seat with a massive sigh of relief.
Brigida ripped off her cap, her long dark hair tumbling down her shoulders. She pointed a furious finger right at Atherton's nose. "You are kidnapping us! I am calling the police!"
Atherton turned around. His jaw dropped. His heart nearly stopped beating. The two short-haired young masters he thought he grabbed were now two long-haired little girls.
His hands shook violently as he pulled out his phone. He dialed Fabian Richmond's private number. "S-Sir," Atherton stuttered, cold sweat dripping down his neck. "I... I grabbed the wrong children."
Back with Angelena, the group climbed into the company's luxury van. Angelena handed the tablet back to Justice and turned around to grab a bottle of water for her daughters.
Her eyes landed on the back seat. The smile on her face froze instantly.
The water bottle slipped from her fingers. It hit the floorboard with a heavy thud.
Foy and Leland had taken off their sunglasses. They were staring at her with deep, piercing eyes that were an exact replica of her own. These were absolutely not her daughters.
Angelena's mind went entirely blank. A surge of pure terror shot through her veins. She lunged forward, grabbing Justice by the collar of her blouse.
"Whose children are these? !" Angelena screamed, her voice cracking with panic. "Where are my daughters? !"
Justice turned pale as a ghost. She stuttered, "I-I grabbed them from the bathroom door! I thought they were them!"
Foy sat perfectly still. He pushed Angelena's hand away from Justice's collar. His voice was unnervingly calm. "Ma'am, your employee just committed a serious felony. Kidnapping."
Angelena's vision blurred with panic. She slammed her hand against the partition window. "Turn the car around! Back to the airport, now!" Her hands shook uncontrollably as she pulled out her phone and dialed 911. Her heart felt like it was going to explode in her chest.
