The glass doors of L’Hermitage swung shut, cutting off the crisp autumn breeze of San Francisco and replacing it with the heavy, suffocating silence of Darwin Worthington’s unraveling world.

At 2:00 PM that afternoon, a sleek black Audi pulled up outside Sydney’s Victorian home in Noe Valley. Darwin stepped out, wearing a dark suit, his face pale and exhausted after endless hours of legal battles.

He walked up the wooden porch steps and rang the doorbell.

The door opened, and Sydney stood behind the screen. Her expression froze into solid ice the moment she saw him.

"Get off my porch, Darwin," she said, her voice dead calm.

"Sydney, please," Darwin begged, placing a hand against the doorframe. "I know the truth. I know what Decker did with Dr. Harrison. I have the wire transfer records. I know my uncle bribed the clinic to fake your medical report."

Sydney stared at him, but there was no relief or joy in her face—only deep, weathered bitterness.

"Do you think that excuses you?" she asked softly.

"No," Darwin said, his voice cracking. "No, it doesn't. I was a coward. I listened to my uncle instead of standing by my wife. I threw away your second opinion without even reading it. I will spend the rest of my life hating myself for it."

"Then go hate yourself somewhere else," Sydney said, starting to close the door.

"They are my children, Sydney!" Darwin blurted out, tears welling in his eyes. "Xavier and Alicia... I saw them. I saw my mother's eyes in Alicia. Please, just let me help you raise them. Let me make up for six years of absence!"

Sydney stopped the door and pushed it open, stepping out onto the porch to face him directly, her eyes blazing.

"You don't get to step in now!" she hissed, keeping her voice low so as not to startle the kids inside. "Where were you when I was in the ICU for three weeks with severe preeclampsia? Where were you when Xavier had a respiratory failure at two months old and I couldn't afford his medication? I sold my mother's jewelry to pay their hospital bills, Darwin! You were attending galas with Phoebe!"

Darwin felt as if a blade had been shoved into his chest. "Sydney... I didn't know..."

"Because you didn't care to look!" Sydney shouted softly, tears finally streaming down her face. "You walked away because you thought I was broken! You don't deserve to be called their father!"

Before Darwin could answer, a small voice sounded from behind the screen door.