Noah was forced to kneel on the marble floor and clean guests’ shoes like a servant.

I stared at those words until the ink seemed to burn into the paper. Where the river bends. My father had owned a small cabin by the river, miles outside the city. He had gone there to write, to think, to hide from the world. We had not visited since his funeral.

“That is where it is,” I said to Daniel later that evening, showing him the note. “The full archive. The evidence. Everything Julian fears.”

Daniel stood up quickly. “We leave tonight.”

“No,” I said. “If Julian is watching—and he is—we cannot both disappear. He will know exactly where we have gone.”

“So what do we do?”

“You go. Take the security team. Find the evidence. Bring it back. I stay here with Noah. I keep Julian distracted.”

Daniel hesitated. “If he comes for you—”

“He will not. He needs us to bring him the documents. He will not hurt us until he is certain we have nothing to give him.” I reached out and took his hand. “Go. Find what my father left. And bring back enough to destroy Julian Vance.”

Daniel nodded slowly. He squeezed my hand once, then let go.

By midnight, he was gone.

I stayed awake all night, sitting in the dark by Noah’s bed, watching him sleep, listening for every sound. Every creak of the floorboard. Every rustle outside. Every shadow that moved too quickly.

At dawn, my phone rang.

Unknown number.

I answered. Julian’s voice came through, calm and confident.

“Good morning, Emily. I trust you have reached a decision?”

“Daniel is gone,” I said. “He went to find Elias.”

Julian laughed softly.

“Daniel is not at the cabin, Emily. I have men watching the roads. He never left the city.”

My blood ran cold.

“You are lying.”

“Am I? Check your tracker. The one you placed in his car.” Julian paused. “I removed it hours ago. And Emily… tell me the truth. Where did your father hide the evidence?”

I said nothing.

“Time is running out,” Julian said, his voice dropping. “And if you send Daniel running to the cabin… he will walk straight into a trap.”

He hung up.

I grabbed my phone and called Daniel. Straight to voicemail.

My hands trembled as I redialed. Again and again.

Then I remembered. Julian had said he had men watching the roads. If Daniel was already there… if he had walked into an ambush…

I looked at Noah sleeping peacefully. Then I looked at the locket on the dresser.

Julian knew about the note. He knew about the clue. Which meant someone had told him. Someone had seen us open the locket. Someone had watched us from inside this house.

I spun around slowly, scanning the room.

The door stood slightly ajar.