Luna read the letter three times. Her vision blurred her had been ripped out.
Maya knew. Maya had been trying to save her. Trying to give her back her daughter. Her life. Her future.
And Victor killed her for it.
Luna folded the letter carefully. Put it back in the envelope. Placed it in the box with everything else.
Then she pulled out the photograph of her daughter again.
Aria.
Three years old. Dark hair. Brown eyes. Living in a facility where children were raised like livestock. Where they waited to be sold.
Luna's daughter had been there for three years. Alone. Probably scared. Wondering why no one came for her.
Luna stood up. Her legs were steady now. Her hands had stopped shaking.
The grief was still there. The rage was still burning. But underneath it all was something else.
Purpose.
She knew what she had to do.
Luna gathered all the files. The recorder. The letter. The photograph. She put everything into a backpack she found in the corner.
Then she walked out of the secret room. Down the stairs. Out of Maya's house.
Her motorcycle was parked in the driveway. Luna threw her leg over it and started the engine.
The address burned in her mind.
2847 Canyon Road.
Her daughter was there. Waiting.
And Luna was going to get her back.
She twisted the throttle. The engine roared. The bike shot forward into the night.
Luna didn't think about Victor. Didn't think about the guards or the security or the impossibility of breaking into a fortified facility alone.
She only thought about one thing.
Her baby was alive.
And nothing—not Victor, not his guards, not the whole damn world—was going to stop her from bringing her daughter home.
Luna rode through the desert at a hundred miles per hour. The wind tore at her hair. Her eyes watered. She didn't slow down.
2847 Canyon Road.
The GPS on her phone showed it was forty minutes outside the city. Middle of nowhere. Perfect place to hide a facility full of stolen children.
Luna's knuckles were white on the handlebars. Her mind raced faster than the motorcycle.
She had no plan. No backup. No weapons except the knife strapped to her thigh and the gun in her jacket.
It didn't matter.
Her daughter was there. That was all she needed to know.
The city lights faded behind her. The road stretched empty and dark. Nothing but desert and stars and the roar of her engine.
Luna's phone buzzed in her pocket. She ignored it. It buzzed again. And again.
Victor.
He could wait. He could burn for all she cared.
Twenty minutes out, Luna's phone rang. The vibration was insistent. Angry.
She pulled over. Killed the engine. Answered.
"Where the hell are you?" Victor's voice was ice.
"Handling something personal."
"I didn't give you permission to handle anything personal. Get back to the compound. Now."
"I can't."
Silence. Dangerous silence.
"Luna." Victor's voice dropped. "What are you doing?"
Luna hung up. Turned off the phone. Threw it into the desert.
Then she started her motorcycle and kept riding.
The facility appeared like a wound in the darkness.
High fences. Razor wire. Guard towers with spotlights. A main building that looked like a prison.
Luna parked her bike a quarter mile away. Hidden behind a ridge. She pulled out the binoculars she'd grabbed from Maya's house and studied the layout.
Four guards are visible. Probably more inside. Security cameras on every corner. One entrance. Heavy gate.
Impossible.
Luna lowered the binoculars. Her heart was pounding.
She thought about Maya's letter. Find your daughter. Get her out. Run.
But how?
Luna scanned the perimeter again. There had to be a weakness. A blind spot. Something.
Then she saw it.
The east side of the fence. No camera coverage for about twenty feet. The guard tower's spotlight didn't quite reach it.
Luna moved.
She approached on foot. Stayed low. Used the desert scrub for cover. When she reached the fence, she pulled out wire cutters from her pack.
The fence was chain-link. Thick. It took five minutes to cut a hole big enough to crawl through.
Luna squeezed through. Stayed in the shadows. Moved toward the main building.
Her daughter was there. Room 14. According to Maya's notes.
Luna reached the building's side wall. Pressed herself against it. Listened.
Voices inside. Male. Two of them. Guards talking.
"Quiet night."
"Always quiet. Who's gonna raid a children's home in the middle of nowhere?"
They laughed.
Luna moved along the wall. Found a window. Looked inside.
A hallway. Empty. Fluorescent lights. Doors on both sides. Numbers on each door.
Room 7. Room 8. Room 9.
Luna tried the window. Locked.
She pulled out her knife. Wedged it into the frame. Pried gently. The lock popped.
The window slid open with a soft scrape.
Luna climbed through. Landed silently on the linoleum floor.
The hallway was cold. Sterile. It smelled like disinfectant and fear.
Luna moved quickly. Room 10. Room 11. Room 12.
Voices ahead. Getting closer.
Luna ducked into an unlocked room. Pulled the door almost closed. Peeked through the crack.
Two guards walked past. Talking about a football game. They didn't look in her direction.
When they were gone, Luna slipped back into the hallway.
Room 13.
Room 14.
Luna's hand shook as she reached for the doorknob.
This was it. Her daughter was on the other side of this door.
She turned the knob. The door opened.
The room was dark. Small. A single bed. A nightlight plugged into the wall casting a soft glow.
And in the bed, a small figure. Dark hair spread across the pillow.
Luna's breath caught.
She stepped inside. Closed the door behind her.
Moved to the bed.
The little girl was sleeping. Her face peaceful. One hand tucked under her cheek.
She was beautiful.
Luna reached out. Her hand trembled. She touched the girl's hair gently.
"Aria," Luna whispered.
The girl stirred. Her eyes fluttered open. Big. Brown. Confused.
"Who are you?" she asked in a small voice.
Luna's throat tightened. Tears streamed down her face.
"I'm your mama," Luna said. "And I'm taking you home."
The girl stared at her. Not understanding. Probably scared.
Luna started to reach for her. To pick her up.
That's when the lights came on.
Blinding. Harsh.
Luna spun around.
The door was open. Guards filled the doorway. Five of them. Guns drawn.
And behind them, walking slowly into the room with a smile on his face, was Victor.
"Hello, Luna," he said calmly. "I was hoping you'd come here."
Luna's hand went to her gun. She pulled it. Aimed at Victor.
The guards aimed at her.
"Don't," Victor said. "You shoot me, they shoot you. Then who protects the girl?"
Luna's hand shook. The little girl in the bed started crying.
"This was a trap," Luna said.
"Of course it was." Victor's smile widened. "You think I didn't notice when you turned your phone back on? When you left the city heading straight for the desert?"
"You tracked me."
"I've been tracking you for years, Luna. Every phone. Every vehicle. Every move you make." Victor stepped closer. "Including The moment you left maya's
Luna's jaw clenched. "You wanted me to come here."
"I needed to see what you'd do. If you'd really betray me over some brat you don't even know." Victor's eyes were cold. "Now I have my answer."
Luna's finger tightened on the trigger.
"Shoot me and she dies," Victor said. "Lower your weapon and maybe just maybe—I'll let her live."
Behind Luna, the little girl sobbed.
Luna's hand wavered.
Victor smiled.
"Choose, Luna. Me or her. Your life or hers. What's it going to be?"