The maid secretly dyed a pot of cheap rice yellow and called it “gold rice” so the four little boys would feel like princes… But the day the billionaire came home early and saw it, he froze—because the boys looked exactly like him, and that “gold rice” was the secret that kept them alive.

THE MILLIONAIRE COMES HOME EARLY
A billionaire arrived home at lunchtime three hours earlier than usual. The keys slipped from Alejandro de la Vega’s hand and clattered onto the marble floor—yet inside the mansion, no one reacted. He stood at the dining room threshold, frozen, blood running cold and hot at the same time.

Five years after his wife Lucía’s funeral, the imported mahogany table had been untouched—until now.

FOUR LITTLE BOYS AT HIS FORBIDDEN TABLE
Elena, the young housemaid in a crisp blue-and-white uniform, wasn’t polishing silver or dusting. She was sitting at the table, calmly feeding four identical little boys—around four years old—wearing patched, makeshift clothing.

Their eyes tracked her spoon like it was the most precious thing in the world. The meal wasn’t luxury—just simple yellow rice—yet the boys stared at it as if it were gold.

Elena murmured softly, “Open wide, my little birds.”
Then, gently: “Eat slowly. Today there’s enough for everyone.”

She was wearing bright yellow cleaning gloves—hands meant for scrubbing floors—yet she used them with a tenderness so maternal it made Alejandro’s throat tighten.

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