ADRIAN'S POV
"They have Bella." Eva's voice is hollow, dead. She stares at her phone like it's a bomb. "They took my baby."
I grab the phone from her shaking hands. See the photo of the empty car seat. My daughter's empty car seat.
"We're calling the police. Now." I dial 911.
Eva slaps the phone out of my hand. "NO! Don't you understand? They're watching everything! If we call the police, they'll kill her!"
"If we DON'T call the police—"
"She dies either way!" Eva screams. Her control finally shatters completely. "They took her because of ME! Because I came back! Because I wanted revenge!"
She collapses. I catch her before she hits the floor. Her whole body shakes with sobs.
"This is my fault," she whispers. "My baby is gone because of me."
"No. This is MY fault." I hold her tight even though she fights me. "Everything is my fault. What I did five years ago started all of this."
Eva stops struggling. Looks up at me with devastated eyes. "What do we do? How do I get her back?"
Before I can answer, her phone rings. Unknown number.
Eva answers on speaker with shaking hands. "Where is she? Where's my daughter?"
"Safe. For now." The distorted voice sounds amused. "Whether she stays safe depends on you."
"I'll do anything. Please. She's four years old. She's innocent. Just tell me what you want."
"I want you to leave New York. Tonight. Get on a plane and never come back. If you do, you'll get your daughter back unharmed."
"How do I know you'll keep your word?"
"You don't. But it's the only chance you have."
Eva looks at me. Her eyes are desperate, terrified. I've never seen her like this. Even five years ago when they arrested her, she was angry, defiant. Now she's just... broken.
"Okay," Eva whispers. "I'll leave. Just please don't hurt her."
"Smart choice. You have six hours to be on a plane out of the country. We'll be watching. If you contact the police, if you tell anyone, if you try anything clever—Bella pays the price."
The call ends.
Eva crumples in my arms. "I have to go. I have to leave to save her."
"No." I pull back to look at her face. "We're not letting them win."
"They HAVE my daughter, Adrian! They already won!"
"Listen to me." I grab her shoulders. "Whoever this is, they're using Bella to control you. To make you run. But if you run, what's to stop them from keeping Bella anyway? From using her against you forever?"
"Then what do I do?" Tears stream down her face. "Tell me! What do I do to save my baby?"
"We find her. Together."
"How? We don't know who took her! We don't know where she is!"
I pull out my phone. "But we know they're watching. Which means they're close. And they left a trail."
I call James. He answers immediately. "Adrian? The building's on fire—"
"False alarm. Listen, I need you to track a phone number. Right now." I give him the unknown number that's been calling us.
"That'll take time. I need to get warrants—"
"We don't have time! My daughter has been kidnapped!"
Silence. Then: "Your what?"
"I have a four-year-old daughter. With Eva. And someone just took her. So I need that number tracked NOW. No warrants. No rules. Whatever it takes."
"Adrian, if this is illegal—"
"I don't care! Track the damn number!"
James sighs. "Give me ten minutes."
I hang up. Eva watches me with something like hope in her eyes.
"You called her your daughter," she whispers.
"She is my daughter. And I'm going to get her back." I cup Eva's face. "I failed you five years ago. I won't fail Bella. I swear on my life."
Eva's phone buzzes. Text message. Another photo.
This one shows Bella. She's sitting in a chair, crying. Her hands are tied in front of her. There's tape over her mouth.
Eva makes a sound like a wounded animal.
The message says: Five hours and forty-five minutes. Tick tock.
"I'm going to kill them," Eva says quietly. "Whoever did this, I'm going to destroy them."
"We will. Together." I forward the photo to James. "This gives us more to work with. The room she's in, the lighting, the furniture—"
Eva's office door bursts open. Nadia stumbles in, bleeding from a cut on her forehead.
"Nadia!" Eva rushes to her. "Oh my God, what happened?"
"They ran me off the road." Nadia's voice shakes. "Three men. Masks. They smashed my window, grabbed Bella from the back seat. I tried to fight them but one hit me with something. When I woke up, they were gone."
"Did you see anything? A license plate? Which direction they went?"
"North. They went north on the highway." Nadia looks at Eva with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. I was supposed to protect her."
"This isn't your fault." Eva hugs her. "None of this is your fault."
My phone rings. James. "I traced the number. It's a burner phone, but I got the last known location where it pinged."
"Where?"
"An abandoned warehouse in the Bronx. But Adrian... the phone went dead two minutes ago. They probably destroyed it."
"Send me the address anyway."
"I'm also sending you the photo analysis. The room Bella's in? Based on the concrete walls and industrial lighting, it matches warehouses in that same area."
Hope flares. "We've got them."
Eva grabs my arm. "Let's go. Now."
We head for the door. But then my phone buzzes with a new message. From my mother.
We need to talk. About your daughter. About Evangeline. About everything. Come to the house. Alone. Or you'll never see Bella alive again.
I stare at the message. Ice floods my veins.
"What?" Eva asks. "What is it?"
I show her the message.
Eva's face goes white. Then red with rage. "Your mother? Your MOTHER has Bella?"
"I don't know. This could be a trick—"
"She knew about the pregnancy! She arrested me knowing I was pregnant! She's capable of anything!"
My mind races. Is my mother really behind this? Could she be that evil?
Then I remember something. The video Eva showed me. My mother saying "we'll deal with it" about the pregnancy.
What if "dealing with it" meant making sure the baby never existed?
What if she's been planning this for five years?
My phone buzzes again. Another message from my mother: I have information you need. About who really took Bella. But you come alone, or I tell them to kill her. You have thirty minutes.
I look at Eva. "I have to go."
"Like hell you do! This is obviously a trap!"
"But what if it's not? What if my mother really knows who took Bella?"
"Your mother IS who took Bella!"
"We don't know that for sure."
Eva grabs my jacket. "Don't you dare go to her. Don't you dare trust her after everything she's done!"
But my phone rings. My mother. Against my better judgment, I answer.
"Hello, Adrian." Her voice is calm. Too calm. "I assume you got my messages?"
"If you hurt Bella—"
"I haven't touched the child. But I know who has. And I know why. Come to the estate. Alone. In twenty-five minutes. Or the people who have her will do things that will give you nightmares."
The call ends.
I look at Eva's terrified face. At Nadia's bleeding head. At my shaking hands.
Then I make a choice that might destroy e
verything.
"I'm going to my mother's house."
"Adrian, NO—"
"But you're coming with me."