“I tried. Every letter I sent was returned marked ‘Address unknown.’ And when I found out I was pregnant, it was too late.”

Jack picked up the twins, shocked. One of them placed a small hand on his cheek—a gesture he’d made as a child in old photographs.

“Their names are Noah and Liam,” Lisa said in a trembling voice.

The announcement rang out: “Last call for the Paris-New York flight.” Jack glanced at the boarding gate, then at Lisa.

He tore up his ticket.

“I’m not leaving. This time, no one is taking my family away.”

Lisa burst into tears. The crowd around them continued to move, indifferent—but for Jack, time stood still.

Now he didn’t need planes or hotels. Everything he’d sought his whole life was sleeping there, in his arms.