The Range Rover interior felt like a tomb. Vivienne’s fingers tapped against the steering wheel, her purple eyes flicking to Isaiah in the passenger seat every few seconds. Something was wrong. Isaiah never forgot appointments. Never missed calls. Never showed up looking like he’d been through a war zone.

Yet here he was, staring out the window with vacant eyes, his normally perfect hair sticking up in all directions, wearing a tank top and sweatpants like he’d been dragged from sleep. Or a fight.

Vivienne caught Cassidy’s gaze in the rearview mirror. Cassidy gave a small nod. They both knew: the proposition would have to wait.

"You want to talk about it?" Cassidy asked, leaning forward between the front seats. When Isaiah didn’t respond, she poked his shoulder. "Hello? Earth to Angelo?"

Isaiah blinked slowly. "Sorry. What?"

"Your mom," Cassidy said. "Spill. What’s the deal?"

"There’s no deal." Isaiah turned back to the window. "She left. Now she’s back. End of story."

Harlow frowned, scooting forward until her head appeared next to Cassidy’s. "But you look upset. Like, really upset. I’ve never seen you like this before."

"I’m fine."

"You’re lying," Sabrina said quietly from the back seat, not looking up from her book. "Your right eyebrow twitches when you lie. Did you know that?"

Isaiah’s hand immediately went to his eyebrow. "It does not."

"It absolutely does." Cassidy grinned. "How do you think we always know when you’re bullshitting us about having other plans?"

Vivienne navigated through a yellow light, her voice carefully neutral. "You don’t have to tell us anything you don’t want to. But we did just drive two hours because we were concerned about you, so perhaps a minimal explanation wouldn’t be unreasonable."

Isaiah sighed, his shoulders slumping. "She wants us to move to California."

Harlow gasped. "What? You can’t move to California!"

"I’m not going to." His voice hardened. "But she’s trying to convince Iris that it’s a good idea. New school, new house, new... family."

"New family?" Sabrina asked.

"She met some guy. Jack. Apparently he’s loaded. Tech money."

Cassidy snorted. "So she abandons you for months, then shows up wanting to play happy family with some random dude with deep pockets? That’s fucked up."

"Language," Vivienne murmured automatically.

"Oh please, like you weren’t thinking it," Cassidy shot back.

Isaiah’s mouth twitched in a ghost of a smile. "It’s fine. I’ll handle it. I always do."

The four sisters exchanged glances in that silent way they had, a full conversation happening without a single word. Harlow tilted her head slightly. Cassidy raised an eyebrow. Sabrina gave a small nod. Vivienne pursed her lips, then sighed.

"Change of plans," Vivienne announced, making a sudden turn that had them all lurching sideways. "We’re not going back to the manor."

Isaiah straightened. "What? No, I told you, I need to get back to Iris—"

"You said midnight," Cassidy reminded him. "It’s barely eight-thirty."

"Where are we going?" Isaiah asked, suspicion creeping into his voice.

"Somewhere fun," Harlow chirped, bouncing slightly in her seat. "You need cheering up."

"I don’t need cheering up. I need to make sure my mother doesn’t kidnap my sister to California while I’m gone."

"She can’t legally do that," Sabrina pointed out. "You’re Iris’s legal guardian, correct? You have paperwork?"

Isaiah hesitated. "Yes, but—"

"Then stop worrying for five seconds and let us distract you."

""With what?" Isaiah challenged. "A gala? Another evening where you drag me to some museum fundraiser and I stand around in a suit while people three times my age ask about portfolio diversification?"

Vivienne’s knuckles whitened around the steering wheel. The leather creaked under her grip. "That’s not what we—"

"I need to be home," Isaiah said flatly. "That’s what I need."

"You need a break," Harlow cut in, twisting around in her seat to look at him directly. Her expression was somewhere between concerned and stubborn. "Seriously. You look terrible."

"Thanks for that."

Sabrina leaned forward from the back, her quiet voice carrying weight. "She means you look stressed. Actually stressed. When was the last time you did something that was purely for enjoyment? Not work. Not responsibility. Just... fun?"

Isaiah started to answer, then stopped. His jaw worked for a second before he closed his mouth again.

"Exactly," Cassidy said, pointing at him triumphantly. "You can’t even remember. So shut up and let us help you for once, instead of you constantly being the one fixing everything for everyone else."

"I don’t need—"

"Everyone needs help sometimes," Vivienne cut in, her voice softer than usual. "Even you, Isaiah."

He fell silent, looking back out the window at the city lights. The sisters exchanged another round of glances. This was going to be harder than they thought.

"One problem," Vivienne said under her breath to the others. "We don’t actually know Philadelphia at all."

Cassidy snorted. "You think? I couldn’t find my way out of a paper bag in this city."

""I know!" Harlow’s hand was already reaching for her phone, her fingers moving across the screen with practiced speed. "Let me check Yelp. There has to be something fun nearby that we can just walk into without calling ahead or making a reservation three weeks in advance."

"No museums," Cassidy said quickly, pointing at Harlow’s phone like she could influence the search results through sheer force of will. "And definitely no fancy restaurants where they judge you for using the wrong fork. Nothing that requires a dress code or reservations or those stupid little rules about where to put your napkin."

"What do normal teenagers even do for fun?" Vivienne muttered under her breath, her eyes fixed on the road ahead as she slowed the car to a stop at a red light. Her fingers drummed once against the steering wheel before she caught herself and stopped.

Isaiah turned in his seat to look at her properly, one eyebrow climbing his forehead in that particular way that somehow managed to convey both amusement and skepticism. "Normal teenagers?"

"You know what I mean." Vivienne’s voice was defensive, clipped.

"Actually," Isaiah said slowly, his tone perfectly neutral in that way that made it clear he was choosing his words very carefully, "I don’t think I do."

Sabrina leaned forward, her quiet voice carrying from the back seat. "She means teenagers who haven’t had a multi-million-dollar brand built around them since birth. Teenagers who aren’t photographed everywhere they go. Teenagers who get to make mistakes without board meetings being called."

Vivienne’s cheeks colored slightly. "Thank you for that clarification, Sabrina."

"Anytime."

Isaiah’s face softened slightly. "Normal teenagers go to movies. Hang out at malls. Get pizza. Play arcade games. Nothing fancy."

Harlow’s face lit up. "I found something! Dave & Buster’s! It has food and games and it’s only ten minutes from here!"

"Dave and who?" Vivienne asked.

"It’s an arcade restaurant," Isaiah explained. "Games, prizes, mediocre food. Loud. Chaotic."

"Sounds perfect," Cassidy decided. "Vivi, take us there."

"Don’t call me Vivi," Vivienne muttered, but she was already turning at the next light, following the GPS instructions on her phone.

Harlow bounced in her seat, her excitement palpable. "I’ve never been to an arcade before! Will they have racing games? I want to try racing games. And those basketball shooting ones. And whack-a-mole!"

"You’ve never been to an arcade?" Isaiah asked, surprised.

"Mother says they’re ’breeding grounds for delinquency,’" Sabrina quoted dryly.

"Which means they’re exactly my kind of place," Cassidy grinned.

The next ten minutes passed with Harlow’s constant questions about arcade games, Cassidy’s increasingly ridiculous answers, Sabrina’s quiet corrections, and Vivienne’s tense concentration on Philadelphia traffic. By the time they pulled into the Dave & Buster’s parking lot, the atmosphere in the car had lightened considerably.

"You really don’t have to do this," Isaiah said as they climbed out of the car. "I’m fine."

"Consider it market research," Vivienne replied smoothly. "I need to understand the youth demographic better."

Cassidy rolled her eyes. "God, you’re so fake. Just admit you want to play skee ball like a normal person."

"I have no idea what skee ball is, but I’m certain I’ll excel at it."

"I bet I can beat you," Cassidy challenged.

"I bet you can’t."

"Oh, you’re so on."

Harlow squealed, grabbing Isaiah’s arm. "This is going to be amazing! Do they have cotton candy? I want cotton candy!"

"Pretty sure they do." Isaiah allowed himself to be pulled toward the entrance, his resistance visibly weakening. "But fair warning, it’s going to be crowded. And loud. And people might recognize you."

"Let them," Sabrina said with a small shrug. "Tonight isn’t about being Valentines. It’s about being friends."

Isaiah blinked, looking genuinely thrown by that statement.

Inside, the arcade was exactly as promised: loud, chaotic, and packed with flashing lights. The sisters paused just inside the entrance, taking it all in with varying expressions. Harlow’s eyes were wide with wonder. Cassidy looked like she’d found her spiritual home. Vivienne appeared slightly horrified by the noise level. Sabrina was already analyzing the optimal game strategy.

"We need cards," Isaiah explained, gesturing to the counter. "You load them with money, then swipe them at the games. Win tickets, trade them for prizes at the end."

"I’ll handle this." Vivienne stepped up to the counter, pulling out a black credit card.

Five minutes later, they each had a power card loaded with what Isaiah suspected was an obscene amount of money.

"Alright, where to first?" Cassidy asked, spinning in a circle to survey the options.

Harlow pointed excitedly. "Racing games! Can we do racing games?"

"I’ll race you," Isaiah offered, a hint of his usual confidence returning. "Fair warning though, I’m pretty good."

"Ha! We’ll see about that."