Emma's POV
I throw open the door before I can change my mind.
Nathan Cross stands on my doorstep, and for a moment, I forget how to breathe.
Ten years have changed him. He's taller, broader in the shoulders, with the kind of confidence that comes from surviving hard things. But his eyes—those impossibly blue eyes—are exactly the same. Kind. Worried. Fixed on me like I'm the only person in the world.
"Emma," he says, and his voice cracks on my name.
Then I'm crying. Huge, ugly sobs that shake my whole body. Before I know what's happening, Nathan steps inside and wraps his arms around me. I collapse against his chest, and he holds me like he's afraid I'll disappear again.
"I'm sorry," I gasp between sobs. "I'm so sorry. For everything. For leaving. For believing Ryan. For—"
"Shh. Not now." Nathan's hand moves in gentle circles on my back. "We'll talk about the past later. Right now, I need to know you're safe."
"Mommy?" Lily's small voice makes us both freeze. She stands in the hallway, clutching her stuffed rabbit, eyes wide with confusion. "Who's that man?"
I pull away from Nathan, wiping my face. "This is... this is Nathan. An old friend. He's here to help us."
Nathan crouches down to Lily's level, keeping his distance so he doesn't scare her. "Hi, Lily. Your mom told me you're very brave. Is that true?"
Lily nods slowly, studying him with the intense way kids do when they're deciding if they can trust someone.
"Good," Nathan says with a gentle smile. "Because brave girls help their moms stay safe. Think you can do that?"
"I always keep Mommy safe," Lily says seriously. "I'm six now. That's practically grown up."
Despite everything, I almost laugh. Nathan grins. "Six is definitely grown up. I bet you're in first grade, right?"
"Second," Lily corrects proudly. "I'm really smart."
"I can tell." Nathan stands, and something in his expression makes my chest ache. He looks at Lily like she's precious—like she matters to him already just because she's mine.
"Lily, sweetie, can you go to your room for a few minutes?" I ask. "Nathan and I need to talk about grown-up stuff."
"Is it about the pretty blonde lady?" Lily asks innocently.
Nathan's whole body goes rigid. "What blonde lady?"
"The one at my school yesterday. She was watching us at recess. Mommy got really scared when I drew her picture."
Nathan looks at me, and I see my own terror reflected in his eyes. "Show me everything," he says quietly. "Right now."
We move to the kitchen table. I show him the postcard, Lily's drawing, the threatening texts, and finally—my hands shaking so badly I can barely hold my phone—the video.
Nathan watches it three times without speaking. His jaw gets tighter with each viewing. When he finally looks up, his expression is dangerous in a way I've never seen before.
"That's not you in the video," he says.
"How can you know? You can't see her face—"
"Because I called you that night, Emma. We talked for two hours. You were at your dorm in Boston. I heard your roommate in the background complaining about her boyfriend. I heard the pizza delivery guy knock on your door. You were three hundred miles away when Sophie died."
Relief floods through me so powerfully I almost faint. "Then who—"
"Someone who wants you to think you killed her. Someone who's recreating Sophie's death to drive you insane." Nathan's voice is steady, but I can see the rage burning beneath his calm surface. "This is sophisticated psychological torture, Emma. Whoever is doing this knows exactly how to manipulate trauma survivors. They know your history with Ryan. They know your guilt about Sophie. They're weaponizing it."
"Ryan," I whisper. "This is exactly something he would do."
"Probably. But he's not working alone." Nathan pulls out his phone. "That video was professionally edited. The voice distortion on the call you received—that takes equipment. And someone broke into your house to take photos of Lily. This is coordinated."
"What do I do?" Panic claws at my throat. "How do I protect Lily from something I can't even see?"
Nathan reaches across the table and takes my hand. His touch is warm, solid, real. "You're not alone anymore. I'm not letting you face this by yourself."
"Why?" The question bursts out before I can stop it. "After what I did to you—ghosting you, disappearing without explanation—why would you help me?"
Nathan is quiet for a long moment. "Do you really not know?"
"Nathan—"
"I loved you, Emma." His voice is soft but fierce. "I've loved you since we were fifteen years old. When you vanished from my life, I tried to hate you. I tried to move on. But I couldn't. So I became a psychologist who specializes in psychological abuse because I needed to understand what happened to you. I needed to know if you left because you wanted to or because someone made you."
Tears stream down my face. "Ryan told me you were stalking me. He showed me texts that seemed obsessive. He said you had a history of—"
"Of what? Caring too much?" Nathan's laugh is bitter. "That's classic gaslighting, Emma. Isolate the victim from anyone who might help them see the truth. Make them doubt the people who love them most."
"I'm so stupid—"
"You're not stupid. You're a survivor of prolonged psychological abuse. There's a difference." Nathan squeezes my hand. "And for the record? Those texts Ryan showed you were either fake or taken wildly out of context. I never stalked you. I just... I never stopped hoping you'd come back."
My heart breaks and mends at the same time. "I don't deserve your help."
"That's the abuse talking, not reality." Nathan stands, still holding my hand. "Now here's what we're going to do. First, I'm calling a friend of mine—Detective Cooper. He investigated Sophie's death and never felt right about how quickly the case closed. He'll want to see this video."
"Okay."
"Second, you and Lily are not staying here tonight. Pack a bag. You're coming to stay at my place until we figure this out."
"Nathan, I can't impose—"
"It's not imposing. My house has a security system, cameras, and I'll be there. You'll be safe." His eyes bore into mine. "Please, Emma. Let me protect you this time."
I'm about to answer when my phone buzzes. Another text from the unknown number.
My stomach drops as I read it aloud: "Tick tock, Emma. Since you brought Nathan into this, the game changes. Camp Hollow. Tonight. Midnight. Both of you come, or I release the full video to the police. The part where 'you' push Sophie off the dock and watch her drown. Wonder how that custody battle will go when Ryan shows the judge proof you're a murderer? —S"
Nathan's face goes white. "They're framing you."
"It gets worse." I scroll to the next message, which just came through. It's a photo of Ryan's car parked outside an elementary school. My elementary school. Where Lily goes.
The message below says: "P.S. Ryan will be picking up Lily today instead of you. He filed an emergency custody order this morning, citing your erratic behavior and mental breakdown. The judge approved it an hour ago. By the time you get to the school, she'll be gone. Unless you come to Camp Hollow tonight and face what you did. Your choice, Emma. Your daughter or your freedom. You can't have both. —S"
I can't breathe. Can't think. The room spins.
"Emma? Emma, look at me." Nathan grabs my shoulders, forcing me to focus on his face. "We're not going to let him take Lily. Do you hear me? We're not."
"The custody order—if a judge approved it—"
"Was based on lies and manufactured evidence. We'll fight it. But right now, we need to get to that school before Ryan does."
I check the time on my phone: 8:47 AM. School starts at 9:00. Ryan could already be there.
"Let me call Cooper first," Nathan says, pulling out his phone. "We need police backup—"
"There's no time!" I grab my keys and run toward Lily's room. "We have to go now!"
But when I burst through Lily's door, my heart stops completely.
The room is empty.
The window is wide open, curtains blowing in the morning breeze.
Lily's stuffed rabbit lies abandoned on the floor.
And on her bed, written in red lipstick across her white pillowcase, are two words:
TOO LATE.
I scream.
Nathan runs in behind me, takes in the scene, and immediately starts searching—under the bed, in the closet, the bathroom. "Lily! Lily, if you're hiding, come out! This isn't a game!"
But I know she's not hiding. I know with absolute certainty what happened.
While Nathan and I were talking in the kitchen, someone came through Lily's bedroom window and took my daughter.
"Call 911," Nathan orders, his voice deadly calm even though his hands are shaking. "Right now."
I can barely hold my phone. My whole body is numb with terror. As I'm dialing, my phone buzzes with one more message.
A photo of Lily, asleep in a car's backseat. She looks peaceful, unharmed. But the message below makes my blood freeze:
"Change of plans. Forget Camp Hollow. If you want to see Lily alive again, come to the place where it all began. Where three friends made promises they couldn't keep. Where secrets were buried that refuse to stay dead. You have until sunset, Emma. Come alone. Bring Nathan and she dies. Tell the police and she dies. This is between you, me, and the truth about what really happened eight years ago. The clock is ticking. Don't make me wait. —Your Best Friend Forever, Sophie"
Nathan reads the message over my shoulder. "Where three friends made promises. What does that mean?"
My mind races through memories. Me, Nathan, and Sophie at Camp Hollow. Swimming. Laughing. Making plans for the future.
Then it hits me.
"The treehouse," I whisper. "The one we built when we were thirteen. Deep in the woods behind Camp Hollow. We carved our names in the floor and promised we'd be friends forever."
"How would anyone else know about that?"
"Only the three of us knew. We made a blood oath to never tell anyone. It was our secret place."
Nathan's eyes darken with understanding. "If someone knows about the treehouse, they either got the information from Sophie before she died, or—"
"Or Sophie really is alive," I finish. "And she has my daughter."
Nathan pulls out his phone. "I'm calling Cooper anyway. We need—"
I grab his wrist. "They said they'll kill her if we involve the police."
"Emma, you can't go alone. That's exactly what they want."
"I know." I look at him, really look at him, memorizing his face in case this is the last time I see it. "That's why you're going to follow me from a distance. You're going to call Cooper and have him stage officers in the woods out of sight. And when I find out who has Lily, you're going to help me get her back."
"This is a trap."
"I know. But she's my daughter, Nathan. I'll walk into a thousand traps if it means saving her."
Nathan stares at me for a long moment. Then he nods. "Okay. But I'm not losing both of you. Not again."
As we race out of the house toward his car, my phone buzzes one final time.
A video file downloads automatically. Against my better judgment, I click play.
The video shows Lily, awake now, sitting in a dimly lit room. She's crying softly, calling for me. Behind her, a figure in a dark hood moves into frame. They're holding something.
A knife.
The figure places the knife on a table next to Lily—not threatening, just showing it's there—then the video cuts to black.
A message appears in white text: "Sunset. The treehouse. Alone. Or the next video shows what this knife can do. Choose wisely, Emma. You couldn't save Sophie. Let's see if you can save your daughter."
The video ends.
I look at Nathan, my whole body shaking with fear and rage.
"Let's go get my daughter back," I say.
And for the first time in three years, I'm not afraid of what I'll have to do to protect the person I love most.
I'm ready to become the monster they think I am.