Chapter 2
Emily didn’t wait for the aide to repeat himself. She gathered the girls close and headed for the parking garage, Tess’s hand in hers, Nora tucked against her side, Belle gripping the strap of her canvas bag.
Behind her, Nathaniel said her name.
She kept walking.
“Emily, wait.”
The girls looked up at her, reading the tightness in her shoulders. Emily forced her fingers to loosen around Tess’s hand.
“We’re going to the car,” she said. “Stay close.”
The garage smelled of exhaust and hot concrete. Their footsteps echoed beneath the low ceiling, mixing with the rattle of suitcases and the distant whine of an engine. Emily spotted her car between two concrete pillars—and stopped.
A black SUV sat across the lane, its nose angled toward her space. A man in a charcoal suit stood beside it, holding a phone. He glanced at Emily, then at the girls.
Nathaniel caught up behind them. “Is that your car?”
“It was.”
The man put away his phone and approached with a smile that looked practiced in a mirror.
“Ms. Carter?” he asked.
Emily shifted so she stood between him and the girls. “Who are you?”
“Graham Pike. I represent Mr. Arthur Whitcomb.”
Nathaniel’s expression changed. “My father sent you?”
“Mr. Whitcomb is concerned about the children’s welfare.”
“They’re fine,” Emily said.
“Of course. No one is suggesting otherwise.” Pike’s eyes flicked to the girls again. “He’d like them to stay with the family temporarily while certain questions are clarified.”
“What questions?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss the details here. But Mr. Whitcomb is prepared to compensate you for the inconvenience.”
The words were mild. The way he said them was not. Emily felt Nora’s fingers curl into the fabric of her sweater.
“Move your car,” Emily said.
Pike’s smile thinned. “I’m trying to offer you a peaceful solution.”
“You’re blocking my car and asking me to hand over my daughters. That isn’t peaceful.”
“Temporarily,” he repeated. “They would be looked after.”
“By whom?”
Pike didn’t answer. Nathaniel stepped closer, his voice low and controlled.
“You said my father is concerned. Did he tell you why?”
“I was given instructions.”
“What instructions?”
“Retrieve the children. Bring them to the Whitcomb residence. Mr. Whitcomb would explain the rest.”
Nathaniel stared at him. “He didn’t tell you who they are?”
Pike’s gaze moved between them. A beat passed before he answered.
“No.”
The admission seemed to land harder on Nathaniel than on Emily. His jaw tightened, and for an instant his polished certainty vanished.
Emily drew the girls farther behind her. “You’re not taking them anywhere.”
Pike lifted one hand, palm out. “No one is trying to frighten them.”
“You’ve already done that.”
A phone vibrated in Pike’s hand. He looked at the screen, and his smile disappeared.
“You need to understand the position you’re putting yourself in,” he said.
Emily’s gaze sharpened. “What does that mean?”
Instead of answering, he tapped the screen. A message appeared briefly before he angled the phone away. Emily caught only a few words: refuse, consequences, children.
“Show me,” she said.
“It’s a private message.”
“Then don’t use it to threaten me.”
He started to pocket the phone. Emily pulled out her own and raised it. The camera clicked just as the screen lit again.
Pike lunged—not for her, but for his phone. His thumb moved over the display.
“Don’t delete it,” Nathaniel snapped.
Pike froze.
Emily checked her photograph. Blurry, but legible enough: If she refuses, make clear there will be consequences for the children.
Her stomach turned cold. She took another picture before Pike could lock the screen.
“Delete those,” he said.
“No.”
“Ms. Carter—”
“Move the SUV.”
Nathaniel stepped into Pike’s path. “Now.”
“You’re making this personal, sir.”
“It became personal when you tried to remove three little girls without telling me why.”
Pike’s gaze hardened. “Your father gave me an order.”
“And you followed it without knowing what you were doing.”
For a moment the two men faced each other in the stale garage air. Then Nathaniel looked toward the SUV’s driver.
“Move it.”
The driver glanced at Pike.
“Move it,” Nathaniel said again, louder.
Pike’s mouth tightened. He gave the driver a short nod. The SUV eased backward, clearing Emily’s car.
Emily unlocked it and opened the rear door. Tess climbed in first. Nora followed, still watching the men. Belle paused beside Emily, her small hand gripping the canvas strap.
“Are we in trouble?” she whispered.
“No,” Emily said, meeting her eyes. “You’re with me.”
Nathaniel stood several feet away, hands visible, as if he understood that closing the distance would make things worse.
“I’ll follow you home,” he said. “Just in case.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“I know.”
She wanted to tell him to stay away. Instead, she glanced at Pike and the black SUV. His father had sent a stranger to offer money for her daughters, then threatened consequences when she refused. Nathaniel might be part of the danger, but at least he had made the man move.
“You follow,” she said. “You don’t come inside.”
“Understood.”
Pike watched them go without another word.
The drive home passed in tight silence. Emily checked the rearview mirror more than the road, watching Nathaniel’s car keep its distance. At a red light, Belle began humming under her breath. The small, familiar sound loosened something in Emily’s chest, but not enough.
When they reached her street, Nathaniel’s car remained at the corner.
Emily parked in the driveway. She unbuckled the girls and walked them toward the front steps, key already in hand. Then she stopped.
The front door stood open a few inches.
She was certain she had locked it before leaving.
“Stay behind me,” she whispered.
May you like
The girls crowded close. Emily pushed the door with her fingertips. It swung inward without a sound.
On the pale entryway floor, a muddy footprint marked the wood.
