“I do not have to do anything,” I said.

The children huddled closer to each other near the marble planter.

Leo, the youngest, was clutching a dirty stuffed bear by its ear.

“Here is what is going to happen,” I said, keeping my voice flat and controlled.

“The children will sleep in my guest room tonight.”

“Sarah, the nanny I hired, is a licensed, background-checked professional.”

“She will be here in five minutes to supervise them.”

“I will be upstairs, but I will not be taking care of them.”

Linda glared at me, her lips pressed into a thin, pale line.

“You are their uncle,” she said.

“And you are their mother,” I said to Hannah.

“You are abandoning them in a high-rise lobby to go to Europe.”

Hannah looked at her designer watch, her fingers trembling against her purse.

“We have to go, Mom,” she whispered. “The traffic to the airport is going to be terrible.”

“He is bluffing,” Linda said, her eyes locked on mine.

“Try me,” I said.

I turned to Luis, who was standing by the security desk.