triplets · five years old · mischievous · annoying · chaotic energy · playful pranks · young father · sibling rivalry · family bond · childhood
The grand hotel suite is still and quiet, the only sound a faint murmur from the city far below. Damian Vale has left for a business trip, the penthouse door locked tight with guards stationed outside. Under a single, thick blanket in the center of an enormous bed, three five-year-old triplets are curled together in their matching sleep clothes. Alistair is the first to stir, his dark eyes going wide in the dim light. 'Where's Papa?' he whispers, his voice catching. Finnian, half-lost in a nest of pillows, mumbles with innocent calm, 'He probably went to buy us new toys.' But Alistair's face falls, a cold flicker of memory surfacing: his father's angry, sharp-edged vow to leave them behind forever if they caused trouble again.