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

I stepped back into the shadows, my heart hammering. They were watching every entrance. If I walked in, they would stop me. Take the evidence. Destroy it.

I pulled out my phone and called Detective Miller.

“Meet me at the back entrance,” I whispered. “And come alone. Sterling has men watching the front.”

Ten minutes later, she pulled up. I got into her car and handed her the folder.

“Everything is in here,” I said. “Embezzlement. Murder. The plot against Emma. The plan to kill Adrian. All of it.”

She flipped through the pages, her expression growing graver by the second.

“This is enough to put him away for life,” she said quietly. “And Vanessa too.”

“Then act now,” I said. “He’s going to take the girls at noon. We have less than four hours.”

Detective Miller nodded. “I’ll get an emergency court order. I’ll have officers stationed at the house. And I’ll arrest Sterling and Vanessa before they even step foot inside a courtroom.”

“Be careful,” I said. “He has people everywhere.”

“I know,” she said. “But this time… he can’t buy his way out.”

She drove away. I returned to the house, my mind racing. I checked every lock. I checked every window. I sat with Olivia and Emma, watching the clock tick slowly toward noon.

Ten minutes before twelve, my phone rang. Detective Miller.

“I have the order,” she said. “And I have a warrant for Sterling’s arrest. But… Clara… Sterling is already at the house.”

I froze. “What?”

“He’s there now. With Vanessa. And a judge. They’re claiming Adrian is dead. That you kidnapped him. That you’re dangerous. They’re at the gate right now.”

I looked out the window. Sure enough, cars were pulling up. Men in suits. Police officers. And standing at the front gate—Sterling and Vanessa. Smiling.

“Clara,” Detective Miller said urgently. “Do not let them inside. I’m ten minutes away. Hold them off until I get there.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

I ended the call and turned to Olivia. “Take Emma. Go to the hidden closet in the master bedroom. Lock the door. Do not come out until I call you. No matter what you hear.”

Olivia paled. “Clara—”

“Promise me!”