Evelyn locked Noah outside in the snow with no coat while Daniel watched.

The stranger’s car hit our front bumper hard.

I screamed.

Emily fought for control, spinning the wheel as our car skidded across the ice. The world tilted sideways. Snow and darkness blurred together. We spun, and spun, and then—

CRASH.

The car slammed into something hard and unyielding. Glass shattered. Metal crumpled. The airbags deployed with a loud explosion, hitting us with sudden force.

Silence followed.

Only the wind could be heard, howling through the broken windows.

My head hurt. Everything felt slow and heavy. I looked over at Emily. Her eyes were closed. Blood trickled down her forehead.

"Mommy?" I whispered.

Her eyes fluttered open. She looked at me, panic flooding her face.

"Noah! Are you hurt?"

"I… I don’t think so." My voice shook. "But you’re bleeding."

Emily touched her forehead, then looked at her fingers. She took a breath, wincing as she moved.

"I’m okay," she said, though she didn’t look okay. "We need to get out of here."

She tried to open her door. It was jammed shut.

"The other car," I said. "Where is it?"

Emily looked through the shattered window. The stranger’s car had stopped a short distance ahead. Its lights were off. The engine was silent.

A man stepped out.

He walked slowly toward us. He was tall, broad-shouldered, his face shadowed by a hat. He didn’t look like someone who had been in an accident. He walked too calmly. Too steadily.

Emily grabbed my hand. She scanned the backseat, looking for something—anything—that could help us.

"Stay down," she whispered. "Whatever happens, stay quiet."

The man reached our car. He leaned in through the broken window. His eyes were dark and cold.

"Is everyone alright?" he asked. His voice didn’t match his face. It was too smooth. Too polite.

Emily pulled me behind her. "Who are you?"

"Just someone trying to help," he said. He reached toward the door handle. "Let me get you out."

"Don’t touch us," Emily warned.

The man paused. A faint smile touched his lips.

"Daniel sent me, Mrs. Hayes. He told me you might need… an escort."

Emily went rigid.

"Daniel?" she breathed.

"He is very worried about you," the man said. "He sent me to bring you home. Safely."

"And if we say no?" Emily asked.

The man’s smile faded.

"Then I am afraid things will become… difficult."

He reached into his coat. When his hand came out, he was holding something dark and rectangular. A phone. He held it up so she could see the screen.

On the screen was a photograph. Of me. Playing in the park. Taken weeks ago.

"We have been watching for a long time," the man said quietly. "Now… please step out of the car. Before I have to make this harder than it needs to be."

Emily looked at the phone. Then at the man’s face. She realized something terrible.

This wasn’t just about guardianship. This wasn’t just about money.

They had been planning this for months. Watching. Waiting.

She looked at me, her eyes filled with tears and fear. Then she looked back at the man.

"If we come with you," she said slowly. "Do we get to see Daniel?"

"Of course," the man said. "He is waiting."

"Good." Emily’s voice shifted. She stood up as best she could in the crumpled car. "Noah… get on his other side. When I say run… you run as fast as you can. Understand?"

I stared at her. "But Mommy—"

"Promise me!"

"I promise."

The man was watching, his head tilted slightly. "What are you whispering about?"

Emily looked him dead in the eye.

"I was telling my son," she said, "that we do not go with people who work for liars."