Vanessa secretly switched baby Emma’s bottle, but Clara caught it before the baby could drink.

The ground seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

“Frame me?” I repeated. “For what? For hurting Adrian?”

“For whatever happens next,” Detective Miller said. “If Adrian is never found… if something happens to him… you become the prime suspect. The nanny who fought with him. Who took him away. Who had motive—jealousy, obsession, a desire to take the children.”

“But that’s not true!”

“I know that,” she said. “But a jury won’t know that. Not if Sterling plants enough evidence. And he has enough money and influence to plant a great deal.”

I stood up, my mind racing. Sterling had not just taken Adrian. He had built a perfect trap. He would make it look like I had snapped. Like I had hurt Adrian. Like I had run away. And then… he would come for the girls. And he would be the grieving family friend, stepping in to take care of everything.

Sterling wins. I go to prison. Emma and Olivia are alone with the people who want them dead.

I turned to Detective Miller. “I have to go back to the house. To Emma and Olivia. If Sterling is framing me… if he makes it look like I’ve done something… he will try to take them. Legally. Tonight.”

Detective Miller’s eyes widened. “You’re right. He could go to a judge—another judge—and claim you are dangerous. That Adrian is missing. That the children are at risk.”

“He has friends on the bench,” I said. “He could get custody transferred to Vanessa. Or to himself.”

“Come on,” Detective Miller said. “We’re going to your house. Now.”

We drove back at breakneck speed. On the way, Detective Miller called ahead to the security team at Adrian’s house.

“Lock everything down,” she ordered. “No one enters. No one leaves. Not police. Not family. Not anyone. If a judge shows up with an order… stall them. Call me immediately.”

When we arrived at the house, all the lights were on. Elena was standing on the porch, pale and frightened. Two police cars were already there. And standing at the gate, talking to an officer, was Vanessa.

She was dressed in black. She looked solemn. Grieving. Perfect.

Vanessa saw me step out of the car. She walked forward slowly, her eyes glistening with fake tears.

“Clara,” she said softly. “Where is Adrian? They told me he’s missing.”

I walked straight past her. “Get away from this house.”

Vanessa followed me. “I came to take the girls. Poor things—with their father gone and you… under suspicion… they need a real mother. Someone who can protect them.”

I stopped and turned to face her.

“You will never touch them,” I said. “And your judge won’t get within a mile of them.”

Vanessa’s smile faltered. “You have no right—”

“And you have no business being here,” Detective Miller stepped between us. “Go home, Vanessa. Or I will arrest you for trespassing.”

Vanessa looked from me to Detective Miller. She realized she had lost this round. But her eyes—cold and furious—told me she would not stop.

“This isn’t over, Clara,” she whispered as she walked away. “Adrian is gone. And you will be next.”

She got into her car and drove away. But as she turned the corner, I saw someone in the passenger seat.

Judge Sterling.

He did not look at me. He did not acknowledge me. He simply sat there, staring straight ahead, as the car vanished into the night.

But I had seen him. Alive. Unharmed.

Which meant Adrian was still their prisoner. Somewhere. Hidden away. And Sterling was free to walk around, planning his next move.

I went inside to Emma and Olivia. They were safe. They were sleeping. But I stood there watching them, and I knew: the war had only just begun. Adrian was gone. Sterling and Vanessa were working together. And I was the only one standing between them and everything they wanted.