Julian's POV
I was driving ninety miles per hour when the police called.
"Mr. Pierce, we've tracked Sophie Hart's phone to a location in New Jersey. We're sending units now. Do NOT attempt to—"
"What's the address?" I cut him off.
"Sir, you need to let us handle this—"
"WHAT'S THE ADDRESS?"
He gave it to me. An abandoned warehouse near the waterfront. Twenty minutes away if I broke every traffic law.
I broke them all.
Emma was ahead of me somewhere. I could see her car weaving through traffic like a woman possessed. We'd both gotten the address. We were both racing toward our daughter.
Our daughter who was with a crazy person.
I called Emma. She answered on the first ring.
"Don't do anything stupid," I said. "Wait for the police."
"That's MY BABY!" Emma's voice was raw. "If you think I'm waiting while that psycho has Lily—"
"I'm right behind you. We go in together. Please, Emma. Please wait for me."
She hung up.
I pressed the accelerator harder. My phone rang. My mother.
"Julian, the police just called me. Tell me Lily's okay. Tell me—"
"I don't know, Mom. Sophie took her. We're tracking her now. I have to go—"
"This is your fault!" Diana's voice cracked. "You let that snake into your life, into your HOME, near your DAUGHTER, and now—"
"I KNOW!" I was screaming. Crying. Both. "I know it's my fault! I know I'm an idiot! But right now I need to find my little girl before—"
I couldn't finish. Couldn't say what Sophie might do.
"Bring her home," Mom whispered. "Bring my grandbaby home safe."
I saw the warehouse. Emma's car was already there, parked crooked, driver's door still open. She'd run inside without waiting.
I slammed on my brakes and jumped out. Ran for the entrance.
The warehouse was dark. Empty. Smelled like rust and old water.
"LILY!" Emma's voice echoed from somewhere inside. "LILY, BABY, WHERE ARE YOU?"
I ran toward her voice. Found her in the middle of the empty space, spinning around, frantic.
"She's not here," Emma sobbed. "She's not HERE! Where is she? Where's my baby?"
I pulled out my phone to call the police back when I saw it.
A phone. Sophie's phone. Sitting on an old crate in the middle of the warehouse.
Next to it was a note in Sophie's handwriting:
Did you really think I'd make it that easy? You took five years from me, Julian. I'm taking much more from you. Try again.
And a photo. Lily in a different location. Somewhere with brick walls and a small window showing city buildings.
Emma grabbed the photo, shaking. "Where is this? WHERE IS THIS?"
My phone rang. Sophie.
I answered on speaker. "Where is she?"
"Oh, Julian. Still so demanding. Still so entitled." Sophie's voice was eerily calm. "You know, I watched you for ten years. Waited for you. And you never even looked at me—not really. Not until little Emma trapped you with her pregnancy."
"Sophie, please. Lily is innocent. She's a baby. Whatever you're angry about, take it out on me—"
"I AM taking it out on you!" She screamed it. "You have no idea what it's like! Watching the man you love marry someone else! Having your stupid half-sister get everything you wanted! Emma always got EVERYTHING! The family name, the money, the respect, and then YOU!"
Emma was crying silently, listening.
"Where is our daughter?" I made my voice steady. "Tell me where she is and I'll give you anything. Money. Whatever you want—"
"I don't want your MONEY!" Sophie laughed, sharp and broken. "I want you to hurt the way I hurt. I want you to know what it's like to lose everything. So here's how this works: I'm going to send you places where Lily MIGHT be. You can look for her. Or you can call the police and they'll find her... eventually. Maybe. If I haven't already—"
"Don't you DARE!" Emma screamed. "Don't you dare hurt her!"
"Emma! Still trying to be the hero?" Sophie's voice turned sweet again. Poisonous. "You know, Lily looks just like you. Same eyes. Same annoying way of looking at me like I'm a stranger. I almost feel bad about what I'm going to do. Almost."
The call ended.
Another text. Another address. Another photo of Lily, this time looking scared, reaching for the camera.
"We're splitting up," Emma said immediately. "You take this address, I'll call the police and give them—"
"No. We stay together. Sophie wants us separated, panicked, making mistakes." I grabbed Emma's hand. "We're stronger together."
She looked at me like I was a stranger. "Since when do you care about being together?"
The words cut deep, but I deserved them. "Since I realized what I lost. Since I understood that you're the strongest person I've ever known and I'm an idiot who never saw it. Since our daughter was taken by someone I was too blind to see was dangerous." I squeezed her hand. "I know you hate me. I know I don't deserve your help. But Lily needs both of us. Please."
Emma stared at me. Then nodded once. "For Lily. Only for Lily."
We ran back to the cars. Sirens were coming closer—the police were almost here.
My phone buzzed. A call from an unknown number. I answered.
"Julian Pierce?" A man's voice. "This is Detective Marcus Chen. I'm a friend of Emma's. I just heard what happened. I'm tracking Sophie's social media and credit cards. I found something."
"What?"
"She posted a photo three hours ago. Before she took Lily. It's from an old building in the Bronx. I'm sending you the address now. It matches the brick walls in that photo Sophie sent you."
The address came through.
"Marcus, thank you—"
"Bring her home safe, Pierce. And if you hurt Emma again after this, I'll make sure you regret it."
He hung up.
Emma was watching me, her face streaked with tears. "Marcus is helping?"
"He found her. Maybe." I showed her the address. "Let's go get our daughter."
We were getting in my car—Emma's was closer—when my phone rang again. Sophie.
But this time, it was a video call.
I answered.
Lily's face filled the screen. She was crying. "Daddy? Mommy?"
"LILY!" Emma grabbed my phone. "Baby, we're coming! We're—"
The camera shifted. Sophie's face appeared. She was smiling. But her eyes were dead.
"Here's the thing about games, Emma. Sometimes everybody loses."
Behind her, I could see Lily tied to a chair. And Sophie was holding something.
A lighter.
"The building I'm in is very old," Sophie said conversationally. "Lots of old wood. Lots of gas pipes that probably aren't safe. One little spark and—"
"SOPHIE, NO!" I was screaming. "Please! I'll do anything!"
"You should have done something five years ago." Sophie's finger moved toward the lighter. "Say goodbye to Daddy, Lily. He never really wanted you anyway."
The screen went black.