Vanessa locked Lily in the dark laundry room because the little girl refused to call her “Mom.”

The silence in the car was deafening. Olivia pulled herself up from the floor, her face pale. Lily kept her eyes squeezed shut, clutching her rabbit so tight her knuckles were white.

James stared at me from the front seat, his expression grim. "Someone told him. Someone who knew the route. Someone who had access to Hale’s plans."

"Which means we can’t trust anyone," I said. "Not even the officers guarding us."

"Exactly," James said. "We follow no one’s orders but our own from this moment on."

He turned to the driver. "Take us to the location I gave Hale earlier. The backup safe house. Not the one he chose."

The officer hesitated. "Sir, Detective Hale specifically instructed—"

James leaned forward, his voice low and deadly serious. "Officer… minutes ago, someone tried to blow this car off the road. Following Hale’s route would have gotten us all killed. Now either you drive where I tell you… or we get out and go there ourselves. Your choice."

The officer gripped the steering wheel, then nodded slowly. "Understood. Backup location it is."

Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to a modest brick house on a quiet, tree-lined street. No officers stood guard. No lights burned. It was completely ordinary. Completely invisible.

We hurried inside. James checked every room, every window, every lock, before letting the girls sit. Once the doors were secured and the curtains drawn, he turned to the officer who had driven us.

"Can I trust you?" James asked plainly.

The officer looked at him—then at the smoking ruins of the intersection we had barely escaped, visible faintly in the distance.

"I’ve been on this force for twelve years," the officer said quietly. "I’ve never seen anything like this. And I’ve never seen anyone survive a bomb meant for them… except by pure luck." He looked James in the eye. "You saved our lives tonight. So yes. You can trust me."

James nodded. "Then tell Hale what happened. Tell him about the bomb. Tell him the route was leaked. But do not tell him where we are. Not until he finds the leak. Not until we know who is working for Julian."

The officer hesitated. "He’ll ask."

"Tell him I insisted," James said. "Tell him I’m taking responsibility. And tell him to be careful. The traitor might be close to him. Very close."

The officer left. James locked the door behind him and dragged the heavy oak wardrobe across it—just as I had done that terrible night in the mansion.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"A house my father owned," James said. "Before everything changed. Julian doesn’t know it exists. No one does. It’s the only place left that is truly safe."

We settled in for the night. The girls shared a bedroom down the hall. James sat in the living room by the front window, watching the street, watching the shadows, watching for any sign of movement.

I sat beside him. "Julian has someone inside the police department. Someone high up."

"Almost certainly," James said. "Which means Julian knows everything Hale knows. Every move we make. Every plan we form. Every witness we protect."

"Vanessa," I said, suddenly cold. "Is she safe?"

James stood instantly. "I will call Hale. Warn him."

But when James dialed Hale’s number… it went straight to voicemail. He tried twice more. Same result.

James looked at me, his face pale. "He isn’t answering."

"Then we go," I said, standing up. "We get to Vanessa before Julian does."

"And the girls?" James asked.

I looked toward their bedroom door. "We leave them here. Locked in. Hidden. And we go together. Fast."

James hesitated only a moment. Then he nodded. "We take the back exit. If anything happens… you run. Do not fight. Do not try to be a hero. Get the girls and disappear."

We left the house through the rear garden, climbing over the fence, moving silently through the dark streets. James drove us in an unmarked vehicle the officer had left behind. We drove fast, lights off, taking back roads, watching every vehicle behind us.

When we arrived at the building where Vanessa was being held… it was surrounded by police vehicles. Officers everywhere. Ambulances. Crime scene tape stretched across the entrance.

James parked and we ran toward the entrance. Hale stood near the doorway, his face pale, talking urgently to another officer.

"Hale!" James called out.

Hale turned. When he saw us, his expression crumbled.

"You shouldn't be here," Hale said quietly.

"Is she safe?" James demanded. "Vanessa?"

Hale looked at the floor. Then he looked up, his eyes dark with grief and rage.

"She’s gone," Hale said. "Someone got past the guards. Someone disabled the cameras. Someone walked right into her room… and walked back out with her."

"Julian," James said.

"Or someone working for him," Hale said. "And James… before they took her… they left this."

Hale handed James a small, folded note. James unfolded it. He read it. Then he handed it to me.

It was written in the same handwriting as before.

*She belongs to me. And so does everything you have stolen. Come find me. If you dare. But come alone. Bring no police. Bring no weapons. Or she dies.*

An address was scrawled at the bottom. An old, abandoned warehouse district on the edge of the city.

James looked at Hale. "Who knew the route we were taking tonight?"

Hale went still. "Only three people. Me. My captain. And…" He stopped. Realization dawned on his face.

"And who?" James pressed.

"And my chief investigator," Hale said quietly. "The man I assigned to oversee Vanessa’s protection. The man who has been by my side since the beginning."

Hale pulled out his phone and dialed a number. He waited. Then he lowered the phone slowly.

"He isn't answering," Hale said. "And his office… it’s empty."

James nodded. "He’s the leak. Julian bought him. A long time ago."

Hale looked toward the dark horizon, toward the warehouse district. "I’ll assemble a team. We’ll surround the building. We’ll storm it—"

"No," James said. "If we bring an army… he kills her instantly. He’s watching. He has eyes everywhere. If he sees police… he pulls the trigger."

"Then what do we do?" Hale demanded. "Let him walk away with her? Let him kill her too?"

James looked at the address on the note. Then he looked at me.

"We go," James said. "Just the two of us. Unarmed. Just as he asked."

"James," I said. "It’s a trap."

"Of course it’s a trap," James said. "But Vanessa is in there. And Julian is in there. And if we don’t go… she dies. And he disappears forever."

He turned back to Hale. "Give us two hours. If we aren’t out by then… bring everything you have. Storm the building. Burn it to the ground if you must. But do not let Julian escape. Do not let him leave this city."