My husband stared at the message.
“No.”
I had never heard his voice sound like that.
Not angry.
Not frightened.
Broken.
“Nobody is taking Lily anywhere,” I said.
Ramirez immediately took his phone.
“We’re not going to that house.”
My husband shook his head.
“They’ll kill Claire.”
“If Claire is alive, we have to find her,” Ramirez said. “But we’re not walking into a trap.”
Lily stood between us.
“I want to help.”
“No,” I said immediately.
“But she’s my mother.”
“I know.”
“Then I can’t just sit here.”
I looked at her.
For years, I’d thought protecting her meant keeping danger away from her.
Now I understood that sometimes protection meant trusting her enough to tell her the truth.
“We’ll find her,” I said.
“But how?”
Ramirez looked at the message.
“The sender made one mistake.”
“What?”
“He said the old house.”
My husband looked up.
“There are two.”
Ramirez nodded.
“And the one we’re thinking of isn’t the only property your father owned.”
My husband suddenly went pale.
“There was a third.”
“Where?”
“Near the lake.”
“Does anyone know about it?”
“My father. Daniel. Claire.”
Ramirez looked at me.
“And Rachel.”
We left immediately.
The lake house was dark when we arrived.
No lights.
No cars.
No movement.
Ramirez’s team surrounded the building.
Then they found the door unlocked.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
Except for one room.
A bedroom.
Fresh footprints crossed the floor.
On the bed was another letter.
This time, it was addressed to Lily.
She opened it with trembling hands.
My daughter,
If you’re reading this, I’ve failed to protect you again.
I’m sorry.
Your father is innocent.
I lied because I thought the truth would put you in greater danger.
The person controlling Daniel isn’t your grandfather.
It isn’t Rachel either.
It’s someone neither of you would suspect.
Someone who has been beside you for years.
Lily looked at me.
“Who?”
I couldn’t answer.
Then we heard footsteps upstairs.
Ramirez signaled everyone to stay quiet.
We climbed the stairs.
A door slammed.
We rushed into the room.
Empty.
Except for a laptop sitting on the desk.
The screen was already open.
A live video was playing.
Claire appeared.
She was sitting in a dim room.
Her hands were tied.
Lily cried out.
“Mom!”
Claire looked directly into the camera.
“Lily…”
A man stepped behind her.
His face remained hidden.
“Let her go!” Lily shouted.
The man laughed.
Then he turned toward the camera.
And finally showed his face.
I stopped breathing.
So did my husband.
It was someone we knew.
Someone who had been helping us.
Someone who had attended every police meeting.
Someone who had seen every piece of evidence.
Someone who knew exactly where Lily was at all times.
Officer Ramirez.
But the man on the screen wasn’t Ramirez.
It was his identical twin.
Claire looked terrified.
Then the man smiled.
“My brother always was terrible at keeping secrets.”
Ramirez stared at the screen.
“My brother died twenty years ago.”
The man laughed.
“No.”
He leaned toward the camera.
“He was the one who died.”
Ramirez went completely still.
The man continued:
“And now you finally understand.”
My husband whispered:
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“My name is Daniel Mercer.”
Lily’s face went white.
“But…”
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
“I was never Claire’s brother.”
He paused.
“I’m her father.”
And behind him, Claire began screaming.
“RUN!”
The screen went black.
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