Their Hidden Treasure

Chapter 5

William’s POV

I was nervous as fuck. I would finally see my baby after 16 years.

Would she like me? Would she want to stay with me?

I glanced at my brothers and saw that they were just as nervous as I was. Luke was fidgeting with his fingers and Damien was pulling on the ends of his sleeves. They always did that when they were nervous.

I didn’t know Alexander and Elijah that well, but I could clearly tell that they were nervous as fuck.

The front door opened and I stopped breathing.

“Come on in, Miss Diaz,” I heard Larry’s voice. “Your brothers are waiting inside.”

Larry stepped aside so she could walk past him.

My heart stopped once I saw a small girl walk inside the house. She kept her head down and I couldn't see her face.

What I could see made the alarms in my head start blasting like crazy.

Did they bring us the wrong girl?!

The girl who walked inside the house wasn’t 16 years old. She was 13 at best.

I was too stunned to speak. Why the fuck was she so small?! Did they bring the wrong child to us?!

I couldn't even look at my brothers or Alexander and Elijah. Did they see it too? Were they as stunned as I was?

Alexander approached her first and jealousy gripped my insides. I wanted to be the one who would speak to her first, but I couldn't move. I couldn't fucking move.

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Alexander’s POV

I gulped the lump in my throat and forced my frozen legs to move.

Something was wrong. She was too small for a 16-year-old girl. She wasn’t just too short, she was too fucking skinny.

“Hi, Sophia,” I said as softly as I could. “My name is Alexander and I am one of your big brothers.”

I came to stand in front of her, but she still didn’t look up at me. Why didn’t she look up?

I got down on one knee so I could see her face better. My breath got caught in my throat when I saw how much she looked like our mom. She still didn’t look at me. She kept her eyes down and it stirred all sorts of emotions inside me.

I was frustrated. I was scared. I was angry. Why didn’t she want to look at me?

“We are so happy to have you back with us,” I said, trying to hide the frustration and fear in my voice.

There was no change in her. She didn’t move an inch. It was like talking to a cardboard cutout of her.

The fear inside me grew. Something was wrong.

James and Lizzie said that she was shy, but the girl in front of me wasn’t shy. She wasn’t even here.

I gritted my teeth and looked back at William. He looked murderous. I wasn’t the only one who thought that something wasn’t right.

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Elijah’s POV

I studied my brother’s worried face carefully. I knew Alexander like the back of my hand and I could tell that he was freaking out.

I had to do something.

He was worried about nothing. We were strangers to her and I didn’t expect her to run into our arms the first time she saw us.