And I knew with a certainty that hollowed me out—
The real danger hadn’t even begun.
The black car door opened.
A man stepped out wearing gloves and a blank expression, as if my fear was nothing more than weather he expected.
Then he lifted a phone.
My daughter’s pink hoodie filled the screen.
My breath shattered. “LILA!”
“She’s safe,” he said calmly. “For now.”
The world dropped out beneath me.
“What do you want?”
“You,” he said. “Only you. You should have left the wedding when you were told.”
I froze.
Every choice I had made—every moment I hesitated—had been the wrong one.
“Get in the car,” he said. “If you want your daughter back.”
My hands trembled. My mind spun. My heart cracked.
But my voice came out steady—steadier than I thought possible.
“Fine. Take me.”
I lifted my chin. “But you’re letting her go.”
The man’s cold smile said everything.
He wasn’t expecting me to fight.
But he didn’t know one thing:
A mother who’s already lost everything…
is the most dangerous enemy in the world.
And tonight, I wasn’t going quietly….
