Chapter 1: The Miniature Security Team

The boardroom of Sterling Global was silent, save for the hum of the air conditioning and the rhythmic tapping of Bryce Sterling’s pen against the mahogany table. At thirty-two, Bryce was the King of Wall Street—cold, efficient, and notoriously single.

“Grandfather,” Bryce said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

Sitting at the head of the table, Old Man Sterling, the retired founder, chuckled. “No joke, Bryce. I had a dream. The spirits said your aura is blocked. You have too much ‘killing energy.’ You need purity to protect you. So, I hired the best security team in the city.”

“The best?” Bryce looked at the door. “Send them in.”

The double doors swung open.

Four children marched in.

They couldn’t have been more than five years old. Two boys, two girls. They were dressed in matching black miniature suits, wearing dark sunglasses that took up half their faces. They walked with a seriousness that was both hilarious and strangely impressive.

“Security Detail Alpha reporting for duty!” the leader, a boy with messy hair, announced.

“We are here to protect the Target!” a little girl with pigtails chimed in, adjusting her earpiece (which was clearly a toy).

Bryce stared. His VP, Charles, tried to stifle a laugh and failed.

“Grandfather,” Bryce said slowly. “These are kindergarteners.”

“They are the ‘Mini-Guardians’ from the Star Martial Arts Dojo,” his grandfather insisted. “Highly recommended. They will improve your luck with women.”

Bryce sighed. He looked at the kids. “Okay, fine. What can you do?”

The leader stepped forward. “We can detect bad people. We can eat snacks to test for poison. And we can tell if a lady is good enough for you.”

Bryce felt a strange tug in his chest. The boy’s eyes… when he took off the sunglasses, they were a piercing, familiar shade of hazel.

“Fine,” Bryce muttered. “But if they cry, they’re fired.”

“We don’t cry,” the little girl said toughly. “We only make bad guys cry.”

Chapter 2: The Secret Mission

In the breakroom, the “security team” huddled together.

“Target secured,” whispered Leo, the eldest.

“He’s handsome,” said Mia, the youngest girl. “He looks just like the picture Mommy keeps under her pillow.”

“Focus,” said Sam, the second brother. “We are here for one reason. To see if he is worthy of being Daddy. Mommy has been working too hard. She needs a partner. And we need a dad.”

“But Mommy said our dad went to buy milk and got lost in the galaxy,” Noah, the third brother, said anxiously.

“Mommy lied to protect us,” Leo said firmly. “I hacked the city registry. This man, Bryce Sterling, was at the same hotel as Mommy six years ago. He is the one.”

Their mission was simple: Infiltrate Sterling Global. Assess Bryce Sterling. If he passed the test, they would execute “Operation Parent Trap.”

Meanwhile, across the city, Luna Vale was punching a heavy bag with enough force to rattle the chains.

“Where are they?” she muttered, wiping sweat from her forehead.

Luna was the owner of Star Martial Arts. She was beautiful, fierce, and tired. Six years ago, she had been the heiress to the Vale family fortune. But after a scandalous night and a pregnancy she refused to terminate, her stepmother and step-sister, Vanessa, had thrown her out.

She had raised her quadruplets alone, building her dojo from scratch.

“Luna!” her assistant, Julian, ran in. “The kids… they left a note. They said they went to ‘find the Dragon’s treasure’.”

“The Dragon?” Luna paused. “That’s what they call… oh no.”

She grabbed her jacket. She knew exactly where they were.

Chapter 3: The Encounter

Bryce was in the middle of a high-stakes negotiation when the door burst open.

“We have a breach!” Leo shouted, jumping in front of Bryce.

A woman stormed in. She was wearing a simple tracksuit, her hair in a messy bun, but she radiated an intensity that made the air crackle.

“Leo! Mia! Sam! Noah!” she yelled.

The four “bodyguards” froze. “Uh oh. Mommy’s here.”

Bryce stood up. He looked at the woman. Time seemed to stop.

She was breathtaking. Not in the polished, plastic way of the socialites he usually dated. She was raw, real fire. And she looked… familiar.

“I am so sorry,” Luna said, gathering her children like a mother hen. “My kids… they have active imaginations. Come on, we’re leaving.”

“Wait,” Bryce said, stepping around his desk. “You’re the owner of the dojo?”

“Yes,” Luna said, her chin high. “And I’ll be refunding whatever crazy fee your grandfather paid.”

“No need,” Bryce said, a smirk playing on his lips. “They’re actually quite… competent. They caught a spy in the lobby earlier.” (They had actually just pointed at a rival CEO and called him a ‘stinky face’, which Bryce found accurate).

Luna looked at Bryce. She felt a jolt of electricity. It’s him. The man from that night. The man whose face was stamped on all four of her children.

She had to get out of there. If he found out… he could take them away. He was a billionaire. She was a black sheep.

“We’re leaving,” Luna said curtly. “Kids, march.”

“But Daddy—I mean, Mr. Boss Man is nice!” Mia wailed as she was dragged out.

Bryce watched them go. He turned to Charles. “Find out everything about her. Now.”

Chapter 4: The Evil Sister Returns

The next day, Bryce showed up at the Star Martial Arts Dojo.

“I’m here to sign up,” he announced.

Luna stared at him. “For what? Toddler tumbling?”

“Self-defense,” Bryce said, loosening his tie. “My bodyguards tell me I have a weak core.”

The kids, peeking from the office door, giggled.

Luna rolled her eyes. “Fine. Get on the mat.”

What followed was less of a lesson and more of a tango. Luna threw him. Bryce countered. They grappled, their faces inches apart. The chemistry was undeniable.

But their moment was interrupted by a high-pitched, screeching voice.

“Bryce? Darling! What are you doing in this… dump?”

Vanessa Vale stood in the doorway, looking out of place in her Chanel suit. She was Bryce’s current business partner—and Luna’s evil step-sister.

“Vanessa,” Bryce said, standing up and helping Luna to her feet. “I’m training.”

Vanessa looked at Luna with pure venom. “Oh. Her. I see the charity case is still pretending to run a business. Bryce, why are you associating with my disgraced sister? She has four illegitimate children, you know. She’s a scandal.”

“They aren’t illegitimate,” Luna said, her voice icy. “They are mine.”

“And who is the father?” Vanessa sneered. “Some random bartender? Or did you not even catch his name?”

Bryce watched Luna’s face. He saw the pain, the shame, and the defiance.

“That’s enough, Vanessa,” Bryce said coldly. “We have a meeting, don’t we? Let’s go.”

He left with Vanessa, but not before giving Luna a look that said this isn’t over.

Luna watched him leave, her heart sinking. Vanessa would poison him against her. She always did.

Chapter 5: The Auction of the Century

A week later, the Vale family was hosting a charity auction. Vanessa had invited Bryce, intending to announce their “unofficial” engagement.

Luna wasn’t invited, but the kids were. Their school choir was performing. Luna had to be there backstage.

After the performance, Luna tried to slip away, but Vanessa cornered her in the main hall.

“Look who it is,” Vanessa announced to the room of wealthy elites. “My sister, the janitor.”

The crowd laughed.

“Actually,” Vanessa continued, holding up a necklace. “This was our mother’s. Since Luna is so desperate for money, I thought we should auction it off. Proceeds go to… teaching morals to wayward girls.”

It was a locket. The only thing Luna had left of her birth mother. Vanessa had stolen it years ago.

“Give that back!” Luna cried, stepping forward.

“Bidding starts at ten thousand dollars!” Vanessa shouted.

“Twenty thousand!” a man yelled.

“Fifty thousand!”

Luna stood there, helpless. She didn’t have that kind of money. Tears welled in her eyes.

“One million dollars.”

The voice silenced the room.

Bryce Sterling stepped out from the shadows. He walked straight to the stage, his eyes locked on Luna.

“Bryce?” Vanessa giggled nervously. “You’re joking.”

“One million,” Bryce repeated. “And I’m buying everything else in the auction too. On one condition.”

“Anything!” the auctioneer stammered.

“Ms. Vanessa Vale leaves the building. Immediately.”

Vanessa’s jaw dropped. “Bryce! You can’t be serious! She’s trash!”

“She,” Bryce said, taking the locket and walking over to Luna, “is the only person in this room with any class.”

He gently placed the locket into Luna’s hand. “It belongs to you.”

Luna looked up at him, tears spilling over. “Why?”

“Because,” Bryce whispered, wiping a tear from her cheek. “I don’t like bullies. And… I think your security team would fire me if I let you cry.”

Chapter 6: The Grandfather’s Wisdom

The next day, Arthur Sterling showed up at the dojo.

He sat with the four kids, eating ice cream.

“You know,” Arthur said to Leo. “You look just like Bryce did when he was five. He had that same stubborn cowlick.”

“Really?” Leo asked. “Does he like spicy food?”

“Hates it,” Arthur said.

“Us too!” the kids chorused.

Arthur looked at Luna, who was watching from the desk. He walked over to her.

“My grandson is a fool,” Arthur said. “But he’s not blind. Six years ago, he came home from a business trip different. He said he met a woman. A woman who disappeared.”

Luna gripped the edge of the desk.

“He searched for her,” Arthur continued. “But the hotel records were wiped. By your family, I assume?”

Luna nodded. “Vanessa. She wanted to make sure I was ruined.”

Arthur smiled. “Well, it seems fate has a sense of humor. You have raised wonderful children, Luna. Sterling children.”

“You know?” Luna whispered.

“I’m old, my dear. Not senile. The blood calls to the blood.” Arthur patted her hand. “Don’t make him wait too long. He’s slow, but he’ll catch up.”

Chapter 7: The Attack

Vanessa wasn’t done. Humiliated at the auction and losing the Sterling contract, she snapped.

She hired thugs to trash the dojo.

It was late. Luna was closing up. The kids were in the back room waiting for Bryce, who had promised to take them for pizza (and to “discuss security protocols,” as he put it).

Three men broke in with baseball bats.

“Teach her a lesson,” Vanessa’s voice came from the alleyway.

Luna fought. She was a martial arts master, after all. She took down the first two, but the third pulled a knife.

“Mommy!” the kids screamed from the doorway.

“Stay back!” Luna yelled.

The thug lunged. Luna slipped, losing her footing. The knife came down.

But it didn’t hit her.

A figure in a suit dove in front of her.

Slash.

Bryce Sterling grunted as the blade sliced into his arm. He didn’t fall. He turned, eyes blazing with a terrifying rage, and delivered a roundhouse kick that sent the thug flying into the wall.

Police sirens wailed in the distance. The “Mini-Guardians” had pushed the panic button.

“Bryce!” Luna scrambled to him. Blood was soaking his white shirt.

“I’m fine,” he gritted out, clutching his arm. “Are the kids okay?”

“They’re fine. You idiot! You could have died!”

“I’m your bodyguard today,” he smirked weakly, then slumped against her.

Chapter 8: The Hospital Reveal

At the hospital, Bryce was stitched up. It wasn’t life-threatening, but he had lost blood.

Luna sat by his bed, the four kids sleeping in a pile on the guest sofa.

Bryce opened his eyes. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Luna said softly. “You saved us.”

“I’d do it again.” He looked at the kids. “They’re amazing, Luna.”

“They are,” she said. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t hide it anymore. He had bled for them.

“Bryce… there’s something you need to know. About six years ago. The hotel.”

Bryce went still. “You were there?”

“I was the girl,” she whispered. “My sister set me up. I was drugged, confused… I stumbled into your room. You were sick.”

“And you stayed,” Bryce said, the memory flooding back. The scent of her. The feeling of peace. “I gave you a ring. A sapphire.”

“Vanessa stole it,” Luna said. “But she couldn’t steal this.”

She pointed to the sleeping children.

“They’re yours, Bryce. Leo, Sam, Noah, Mia. They’re your children.”

Bryce looked at the sleeping angels. Tears filled his eyes. The connection he had felt, the instinct to protect them… it all made sense.

“I’m a father?” he choked out.

“You’re a dad,” she corrected. “And a pretty good bodyguard.”

Chapter 9: Justice and Family

The fallout was swift.

Bryce pressed charges against Vanessa. With the security footage from the dojo and the testimony of the thugs, she was arrested for assault, conspiracy, and extortion. The Vale family reputation was destroyed.

But the Sterling family was just beginning.

A month later, Bryce and Luna stood in the newly renovated dojo.

“Security report!” Leo shouted.

The four kids lined up. “Perimeter secure! No bad guys allowed!”

“Good work,” Bryce said, saluting them. He turned to Luna.

“So,” he said, pulling a small box from his pocket. “I believe I owe you a ring. Since the last one was stolen.”

He opened the box. It wasn’t the old sapphire. It was a new diamond, brilliant and strong, just like her.

“Luna Vale,” Bryce said, getting down on one knee. “Will you marry me? Will you let me be the father I missed out on being for six years? Will you let me protect you for the rest of my life?”

Luna looked at him, then at her kids, who were jumping up and down silently screaming.

“I don’t need a bodyguard, Bryce,” she smiled, pulling him up. “I need a partner. And yes.”

He kissed her, and for the first time in six years, the “bad luck” was gone.

“Ewww!” the kids yelled, covering their eyes.

“Get used to it,” Bryce laughed, picking up Mia and hugging Luna tight. “This is what a happy ending looks like.”

THE END