For ten years, I thought I’d buried the past. But when I knocked on that door and a little girl with familiar eyes answered, I knew—I was here to take back what was mine

I rang the doorbell, my pulse steady but my thoughts racing. The wooden door creaked open, and in front of me stood a small girl—chestnut-brown hair, wide, curious eyes, a face I could swear I had seen before. My heart clenched.

“Hello, sweetheart,” I said smoothly, keeping my voice warm but steady. “Is your mom home?”

She tilted her head. “She’s baking cookies. They smell so good. Do you want one?”

Cookies. Just a normal morning in this house, while my world had been spinning off its axis.

Behind me, I heard the sound of a car door slamming. Belinda stepped out, brushing her hair back, but the moment the girl saw her, her face lit up like a thousand-watt bulb.

Aunt Belinda! I missed you so much!”

“Well, are you going to invite us in?” I teased.

The girl spun around, sprinting back inside. “Mamá! We have guests! You won’t believe it—Aunt Belinda is here!

From the shadows of the house, a figure appeared. Nina. She stepped into the doorway, her face immediately darkening. Her eyes flicked from Belinda to me, then back again.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she hissed. “We have nothing to talk about.”

“Oh, I think we do.”

“You still can’t let things go, can you, Vivi?”

“Let go? Oh, you mean like the way you let go of our friendship? How you let go of the truth about my daughter? And then—oh, best part—you let go of any common sense and decided to take my granddaughter too?”

Nina’s face turned stone-cold. “I was there for Belinda when you weren’t. I raised her, I protected her, and when she had no one, I was the one who saved her and Daisy from your wrath.”

Belinda finally found her voice. “That’s not…”

She faltered when she saw the way Daisy watched her, pure admiration in her young eyes. But a new voice cut through the chaos before either woman could launch into another round.

Scooter. Of course.