Vanessa smashed cake into Lily’s hair on her own birthday.

I drove faster than I ever had in my life. Every minute felt like an hour. Maria wasn’t answering her phone. Every ring went unanswered. I imagined the worst—Vanessa’s triumphant smile, David standing beside her, Lily being torn from the only home she had ever known.

When I finally rounded the corner onto my street, my heart nearly stopped. Two police cars sat in my driveway. The front door stood open. Lights blazed inside. I skidded to a halt and jumped out, running toward the house.

Maria stood on the porch, crying, surrounded by neighbors. She saw me and ran down the steps.

“Adrian… they took her.”

The words hit me like a physical blow.

“Who?”

“David and Vanessa,” she gasped. “They had an order. Signed by a judge. They said you were dangerous. That Elena’s death may not have been accidental. That Lily needed protection. I tried to stop them. But they brought police. And Lily… she screamed for you, Adrian. She fought them. But they pulled her into the car and drove away.”

I gripped Elena’s evidence bag in my hand.

“Did they say where they were taking her?”

“To a safe house,” Maria said. “That’s all they said. But Adrian… David looked at me before he left. And he said: ‘Tell Adrian the game is over.’”

I pulled out the photograph of Julian Vane—David—and showed it to Maria.

“That is who he is. Julian Vane. Lily’s biological father. Vanessa’s brother. He has been living under a false name to get close to us. To steal Lily. To take everything.”

Maria stared at the photo, her face draining of color.

“David… Julian… he was at the hospital the day Lily was born. He brought flowers. He held her. He said she had his eyes.”

I remembered that moment. I had laughed. I had agreed. I had never understood why until now.

“He’s taking her somewhere he can disappear,” I said. “Somewhere Elena never found. Somewhere they’ve been planning for years.”

I called Sarah. I told her everything—David’s real identity, the false court order, the abduction. Sarah went silent, then said,

“That order is fraudulent. Or obtained through perjury. I’ll have it revoked within the hour. But Adrian… by the time we find them… they could be across the border.”

“Elena left a record,” I said. “She listed properties Julian Vane owns. Safe houses. Hideouts. I have them.”

“Text them to me. Now,” Sarah said. “I’ll get police to every location. But Adrian… be careful. If he’s capable of what you say… he won’t hesitate to do anything to keep Lily.”

I read the addresses from Elena’s list. One stood out—a cabin in the mountains, three hours away. Remote. Isolated. Exactly the kind of place someone would go to vanish.

“I know where they’re going,” I said.

“Wait for backup,” Sarah said. “Don’t go alone.”

“I can’t wait,” I told her. “Every minute I delay is another minute they have with my daughter.”

I turned to Maria. “Go to Sarah. Give her everything. Sign whatever papers she needs. Get the order revoked. And bring the police. As fast as you can.”

“Adrian… please… don’t go alone,” Maria begged.

“Lily is calling for me,” I said. “I have to go.”

I kissed her cheek, jumped back into my car, and sped toward the mountains. Beside me, Elena’s evidence bag rested on the passenger seat. Proof of every crime. Proof of every lie. Proof that the man I had called brother was a monster.

As I drove, I thought of Lily. Her smile. Her courage. The way she had held my hand at her birthday party while the world fell apart around her. She was six years old. She had already survived so much. And now she was alone with the two people who had destroyed her life.

I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.