Chapter 003 Mistaken Identity at the Airport

Monica was caught off guard. Sure, Sophia loved to cuddle and act all cute, but she was also super smart and fiercely independent. Sophia was usually the one pulling pranks, never the one getting picked on. Hearing her call out "Mommy" with such a mix of sadness and neediness was a first.

Monica's heart ached. She hugged Sophia tight and whispered, "Mommy's here, Sophia. Don't worry, everything's okay now."

The boy nearby finally let out a breath, but then his eyes went wide as he saw Amelia Smith snuggling into the woman's arms.

He knew his sister Amelia had been through a lot after that kidnapping two years ago. She'd become so withdrawn, barely talking to anyone. Even at the Smith Villa, she only let their dad and him get close, not even their grandma.

And now here she was, leaning into a stranger's arms, calling her "Mommy"?

What was happening?

As he tried to make sense of it, Monica's phone rang.

When the screen lit up, the boy saw a photo of a mom with two kids. The mom was definitely Monica, and the boy and girl in the photo looked just like him and Amelia.

His eyes widened even more. Was this for real?

"William?" Monica asked, noticing his reaction. "What's up with you today?"

She'd never seen William look so confused. He was always the calm, collected one.

The boy just stared at her, puzzled.

Monica then realized not only were their behaviors off, but their clothes were different too.

The boy was dressed in a sharp little suit, looking like a mini gentleman.

And the girl was in a pink princess dress.

Even though they never wore stuff like that, they did look pretty adorable.

Especially the boy, who didn't have his usual cool vibe, making him even cuter.

Monica sighed, "I told you to meet up with Evelyn, and you even changed clothes. Do you think Evelyn hasn't seen you looking messy before? Alright, let's go, Evelyn is still waiting. And I need to give Sophia a thorough check-up when we get back."

She pulled out her phone and saw a message from Evelyn. She replied with a voice message, "Evelyn, hang tight. I'm on my way."

She put her phone away and stood up.

Amelia stuck close, her eyes full of trust.

Monica's heart ached again. She bent down, kissed Amelia's cheek, and gently said, "Mommy needs to push the luggage, so you should hold William's hand and come with Mommy. Let's go meet up with Evelyn first, okay? If you still feel unwell, make sure to tell Mommy, alright?"

"Okay." Amelia nodded.

Monica placed her little hand in the boy's and led them along.

This time, the boy didn't resist. His big eyes scanned the surroundings, trying to figure out what was going on.

Not far away, William and Sophia, who had caught up, were stunned watching Monica walk away with two kids.

Sophia asked, "What's happening? Are we just being ditched like this?"

William shot back, "Shouldn't you be wondering why there are two people who look exactly like us?"

Sophia joked, "Oh, right. Maybe we've been cloned?"

William kept a straight face and played along, "Or maybe we've stumbled into a parallel universe."

They chatted casually, but their minds were racing.

Clones and parallel worlds seemed far-fetched. They both knew they were originally part of a set of quadruplets.

William had an identical twin brother, and Sophia had an identical twin sister.

They didn't know what had happened back then, but their siblings had disappeared.

Sophia asked, "So, they didn't die?"

William nodded. "Someone must have taken them."

Sophia speculated, "And then used them to get close to our jerk dad for some reason?"

William added, "Or maybe our jerk dad took them."

The siblings were piecing together the puzzle.

Sophia clenched her little fists in anger. "How dare they take our siblings and make Mommy sad every day? If I find out who did it, I'll make them pay!"

William took her hand. "Let's go. We need to find Mommy."

Sophia nodded.

Just as they were about to leave, half a dozen men in suits suddenly appeared in front of them.

They lined up in a row and respectfully called out, "Mr. Smith, Miss Smith."

Then, they formed two lines, creating a path in the middle.

William and Sophia looked up and saw Alexander striding towards them.

He was dressed in a classic black and white suit. With a cold and noble aura emanating from his expression, the bodyguards in front of him dared not utter a word.

The two kids, however, were not intimidated at all. Their little heads instinctively leaned closer together.

Sophia had a hunch and whispered, "Is he our jerk dad? He does look a bit like you!"

William didn't say anything; he just stared at him with a cold expression.

He had once hacked into Alexander's database, seen his photos, and knew what he looked like.

Alexander met his gaze and was momentarily stunned.

His son, Daniel Smith, was fearless and a little devil on earth, but he had never been so calm and composed.

He was about to step forward when Joseph caught up from behind.

Joseph whispered, "Mr. Smith, we couldn't find Helen. She must have left the airport."

He glanced at William and Sophia, clearly implying that if these two little ones hadn't suddenly gone missing, causing Alexander to allocate most of his people to search for them, they wouldn't have let Helen get away.

But these two little ones were the Smith family's treasures, so even if Joseph was frustrated, he didn't dare to say it out loud.

Alexander didn't blame him, simply saying, "No need to search anymore. Have everyone withdraw."

Although the Smith Group was interested in collaborating with Helen's CLOUD Design Institute, Alexander's main reason for coming to the airport today was not that.

He had heard that Helen was a top architect and a brilliant doctor known for curing any disease. Thus, he had come here today mainly to ask her to treat Amelia.

William and Sophia, unaware of the situation, suspected that he was plotting something against Monica.

As Alexander approached them, William stepped forward without a word, shielding Sophia behind him. He looked up at Alexander and, in his usual calm and indifferent tone, asked, "What do you want?"