“Chat, calm down, I know I’m a disaster, but seriously—”

The chat didn’t calm down. Messages scrolled so fast they were barely readable:

“WAIT—WHO’S THAT???”

“IS THAT… HER???”

“OMG I THINK SHE’S RIGHT BEHIND YOU.”

“LAN—LOOK BEHIND YOU!”

Lando frowned, squinting at the chat, trying to follow the flood of messages. He rubbed his eyes. “What are you all talking about? Who’s behind me?”

But just as he turned back to his keyboard, he heard it. The softest, tiniest footsteps he’d ever known.

“Papa!”

Lando froze mid-laugh. His heart jumped. That voice… that little voice. It could only be one person.

He whipped around just as his five-year-old daughter bounced into the streaming room, her cheeks flushed pink from the cold and excitement, her curls bouncing. She was wearing a little yellow jacket with a cartoon cat stitched on the pocket and tiny sneakers that squeaked faintly on the hardwood floor.

“Yn,” he breathed, almost like a whisper, and immediately pulled her into his arms. He hugged her tight, pressing her small body to his chest, trying with every ounce of energy to block her from the camera. “Shhh, hey, it’s okay, baby, Papa’s got you.”

The chat exploded. The fan comments became a chaotic mix of excitement, shock, and pure adoration:

“OMG OMG OMG HER FACE!”

“LAN… THAT’S YN??”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE WE JUST SAW HER—THIS IS ILLEGAL BUT I LOVE IT”

“THE CUTEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN”

Lando’s hand flew over the mute button, silencing his microphone before anyone could hear his panicked voice. Then, almost fumbling, he shut the camera off. His chest was still pounding, and he could feel the warmth of Yn’s tiny body shaking slightly against him, either from excitement, the cold, or sensing his panic.

He lowered her carefully onto his lap, one arm still protectively around her. “Hey, hey, baby girl. Did you have fun at the park?” he asked, forcing his voice to stay calm and light, like nothing at all had happened.

Yn giggled, brushing a curl from her face. “Papa! Maria let me feed the ducks! And I went really fast on the slide and I didn’t even fall!”

“You didn’t?” Lando’s voice softened with relief, trying not to shake as he listened. He let himself exhale slowly. “Wow, that’s my brave girl.”

She leaned into him, talking quickly as kids do when they’re excited. “And we played on the swings, and I made a new friend! Her name is Sophie! She has a dog named Biscuit, and he’s really cute!”

“That’s amazing,” Lando said, keeping his eyes on hers and blocking her little body with his arms, even though he had already ended his stream. “Sounds like a perfect afternoon.”

Yn giggled again, looking up at him with her big green eyes, completely unaware of the storm she had just caused online. “Papa, did you see me swing high? I was so high I almost touched the clouds!”

“You were? That’s incredible, baby,” he said, smoothing her hair down. He couldn’t stop thinking about the Twitch chat, the cameras, the millions of people who had just seen her face. He tried to push it down to focus only on Yn.

Yn chattered on for another five minutes, telling him about every little detail. The pigeons, the way Maria had packed her snack, how she thought Sophie’s dog was funnier than her own stuffed dog. Lando nodded along, laughing gently at the moments that made her light up, while his mind was half running through every PR strategy he could come up with.

Finally, Yn leaned against him and yawned, still talking in a tiny, sleepy voice. “Papa, can we play later? Can we draw and-”

“Of course, baby, we’ll play later.” Lando pressed a kiss to the top of her head, trying to calm the panic still rattling through him. He reached for the stream of messages that had been paused on his second monitor, but he forced himself to ignore them. Right now, Yn’s world mattered more than his career, more than the internet, more than anything.

He stood slowly, keeping her tucked against him, and whispered, “Come on, let’s get you back to Maria.” Yn’s hand slipped into his, and he carried her toward the doorway where her nanny was waiting. Maria looked at him with a soft, knowing smile.

“She had fun?” Maria asked quietly.

“Yes, she had the best time,” Lando said, his voice steady. He gave Yn one last squeeze and handed her to Maria. “Good job, baby. Papa’s proud of you.”

Yn waved, completely unbothered by the chaos she had inadvertently caused, before running off with Maria to put her things away.

Once the door clicked closed, Lando sank back into his chair, his chest tight. He took a few deep breaths before picking up his phone and dialing his PR team.

“Hey,” he said, voice low and serious, almost trembling despite his calm façade. “Yeah… it happened. She was on stream. I know. Listen—I don’t care how long it takes. Take down every photo, every screenshot, every post. Don’t let anything stay online. No exceptions. I don’t care if it costs a million; make it disappear.”

There was a pause on the other end, then a voice reassured him. “We’ll handle it, Lando. Don’t worry.”

Lando exhaled slowly, gripping the edge of his desk. He felt like his heart had been through a blender. Yn was safe, happy, unaware of what had just happened, and yet the world had just gotten a glimpse of his little girl.

He leaned back, closing his eyes briefly. “Okay. Okay, just… calm down. Everything’s fine. She’s fine. That’s all that matters,” he muttered to himself.

The next few minutes were a blur of messages, notifications, and calls from his team confirming they were taking care of it. Lando didn’t look at his phone for long, instead choosing to sit back and imagine Yn at the park, her tiny fingers gripping the swing chains, her laughter echoing in the wind.

Finally, he leaned back in his chair, letting himself relax a little, though the adrenaline still hummed under his skin. He pressed a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes. Then, quietly, almost to himself, he whispered, “No one is seeing her face. No one. Not ever.”

It was hard to keep his voice steady, but he forced it. Yn didn’t know how fragile he felt. She only needed him to be Papa, strong and calm, just like every day.

Later that evening, after Yn had gone to bed and Maria had quietly left, Lando finally allowed himself a moment to breathe. He sat in the dim light of the streaming room, looking at the black camera, and imagined the chaotic Twitch chat, the millions of comments, the sudden flood of attention.

“IT’S YN!”

“LANDO YOU MONSTER HOW COULD YOU NOT INTRODUCE HER EARLIER???”

“STOP HIDING HER SHE’S PERFECT”

“FIVE YEARS AND FINALLY…”

He shook his head, smiling despite the panic that lingered. Five years. He had kept her safe, hidden from the world for five precious years, and now… now one small mistake had changed everything.

And yet, despite everything, he knew it hadn’t changed what really mattered. Yn was happy, Yn was safe, Yn was his.

He whispered softly, almost like a prayer, “My girl… I’ll protect you forever.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew the internet would be relentless. There would be photos, screenshots, rumors, maybe even video clips, but he didn’t care. Tonight, Yn had been home, telling him about her day at the park, smiling, laughing, and completely unaware of the chaos she had caused. That was enough. That was all that mattered.