Prologue

The park was alive with the laughter of children, the warm afternoon sun casting long shadows over the playground. Celeste Selene Frost, a three-year-old with bright eyes and a radiant smile, clung to her brothers' hands as they explored. Kaelen, Theron, and Vesper, aged eight, seven, and six, were tasked with watching over their youngest sibling.

"Stay close, Celeste," Kaelen reminded, his tone serious yet gentle. They ventured deeper into the park, the allure of the swings and slides pulling them in different directions. In a moment of distraction, Celeste's small hand slipped from Theron's grasp, and she wandered off, captivated by a fluttering butterfly.

Minutes later, the boys realized she was gone. Panic set in as they frantically searched, calling her name with increasing urgency. Celeste, meanwhile, had found herself at the edge of the park, lost and frightened.

Thorne Bennett, a seven-year-old boy playing nearby, noticed the distressed toddler. "Are you lost?" he asked, kneeling down to her level. Celeste nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

Thorne took her hand and led her to the nearest adult, his own mother, Lena Bennett. "We need to find her family," he insisted. Days passed, but no one came forward. With no information to go on and a mysterious necklace with a snowflake pendant and the initial 'F' offering no clues, the Bennetts decided to take her in.

"Welcome to our family, Violet Ember Bennett," Jasper Bennett said as they signed the adoption papers, unaware of the heartache and longing left behind by her disappearance.