The boys instantly grew wary at the mention of their mother.

"Why are you asking about her?" Archie demanded, glaring at the man like a puppy ready to strike.

He lacked strength, but fiercely maintained a vicious expression. Noticing their hostility and caution, Lucian felt a mixture of curiosity and amusement but ignored it. "Well, you all watched over Essie twice, so it's only natural I thank your mother."

Archie sighed inwardly, but his expression remained tense. "There's no need. My mom's on the phone. She doesn't need your thanks."

He dragged Benny back to the carpet and turned to Estella. "Your dad's here, so you should go with him. My mom's leaving for work soon; she won't have time to keep you company."

Estella, initially jubilant at the boys' support, sobered at this news. Although reluctant to leave, she nodded upon learning Roxanne had to work.

Archie remained vigilant since Lucian mentioned their mother. He thought, I don't want him to see Mommy.

Seeing Estella agree, he quickly tugged Benny before kneeling to gather their Lego bricks.

Lucian said nothing, merely watching them put the toys away. But the more he watched, the stranger it seemed. They were all roughly the same height and, being kindergarten classmates, approximately the same age.

However, considering the timeline, even if Roxanne had twins shortly after Essie's birth and a subsequent divorce, the boys shouldn't be so close in age to Essie. Could it be that boys grow faster? But she'd also placed them in Essie's class. Was that a coincidence?

Doubt washed over Lucian. Finding no answer, he shifted his gaze from the children and casually observed his surroundings. This was a rental, but Roxanne had clearly decorated it nicely. His eye fell upon a cozy, well-arranged space adorned with photographs. Examining them closely, he frowned. Each picture showed only Roxanne and the two boys. Despite their warm smiles, something felt wrong. There was no sign of the boys' father. Or was he the photographer? That seemed impossible; how could he not be in a single photo?

As Lucian pondered this, rapid footsteps sounded on the stairs. Startled, he set down the picture frame and returned to the carpet. A frantic, panic-stricken Roxanne rushed down the stairs, her expression clearly distraught.

Changes Made:

• Improved sentence structure and flow.
• Corrected grammatical errors (e.g., "mommy" to "mom," consistent tense usage).
• Replaced informal language ("put on a vicious front") with more precise wording.
• Removed the repetitive and irrelevant advertising message.
• Clarified ambiguous phrasing.
• Added internal thoughts using italics where appropriate.
• Improved punctuation and paragraph breaks for better readability.
• Removed unnecessary repetition (e.g., "about the same age too").

The revised passage is more polished and reads more smoothly.