“Daddy put something inside my sister’s belly,”…..

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me where it hurts?” She indicated the center of her abdomen.

“Did your father give you any medicine today?” Olivia hesitated for a moment. Then she glanced over at Emma. Emma gave a single nod. Olivia whispered, “He said it was for my headaches.” A sudden chill settled deep inside Daniel’s chest. “Did you actually have a headache?” “No.” “What did he tell you it was?” Olivia swallowed hard. “He called it the blue medicine.” Daniel cast a quick look toward the sealed syringe. Blue medicine. The pharmacy log immediately came to mind. That prescription had been dispensed at 3:42 p.m.—just thirty-five minutes prior to the girls walking into the station. Outside, Michael pounded the flat of his hand against the glass. “Officer Reed! My daughters need to come home!” Daniel rose to his feet. “Stay right here with your sister,” he instructed Emma. Emma clutched tightly at his sleeve. “Don’t let him take us back.” Looking straight into her eyes, Daniel promised, “I won’t.” Another set of headlights swept across the lot. The ambulance had arrived. Michael stepped away from the door as two paramedics made their way over. Daniel unlocked the outer vestibule while keeping the interior security door firmly latched. “Officer?” one of the paramedics inquired. “Two children,” Daniel stated. “One presenting with abdominal distress and abnormal drowsiness. Possible exposure to an unknown medication. We have a syringe secured as evidence.” The paramedic’s demeanor shifted instantly. “Suspected ingestion?” “Yes.” “Any idea what substance?” “Not yet.” Michael forced his way forward. “I can explain everything that’s happening here.” Daniel raised a hand. “Step back.” Michael stared at him incredulously. “You are making a massive mistake.” “Perhaps,” Daniel replied. “Right now, my priority is making sure these children are safe.” Michael’s expression hardened. In that instant, the mask of the frantic, worried father vanished completely. There was zero panic left in his gaze. Only cold calculation. His eyes darted through the glass toward Emma. Then toward Olivia. Then straight to the evidence envelope resting on the desk. His gaze locked onto it. Daniel caught it. Michael had spotted the syringe. Whatever outcome he had anticipated for this afternoon, he certainly hadn’t planned on that syringe winding up inside a police station. The paramedics stepped inside. They immediately commenced their assessment of Olivia. Blood pressure. Pulse. Oxygen saturation. Pupil response. Inquiries. Olivia managed to answer a few. Others she simply couldn’t. When a paramedic asked what she had ingested, Olivia murmured: “I don’t know.” “Was it a pill?” She shook her head. “Liquid?” Another subtle nod. “What color was it?” Olivia squeezed her eyes shut. “Blue.” Abruptly, Emma spoke up. “It wasn’t blue.” All eyes turned to her. Emma’s face had drained of color. “It was clear.” Daniel crouched down beside her. “How can you be sure, Emma?” “Because I watched him.” “When?” “Right before Daddy gave it to her.” The room fell dead silent. Daniel softened his tone. “Tell me everything you saw.” Emma twisted her fingers together anxiously. “There was a bottle.” “What kind of bottle?” “A small one.” “Was there a label on it?” “Yes.” “What did the label say?” Emma stared fixedly toward the locked doors. “I couldn’t read all of it.” “What parts were you able to read?” She breathed out two words. “Mom’s name.” Daniel stopped breathing for a fraction of a second. “Your mother’s name?” Emma nodded. Michael had originally informed dispatch that the girls’ mother had been out of the country for half a year. Daniel had accepted that detail since it was part of the initial missing-child log. Now, however, doubt crept in. “What is your mother’s name?” Emma glanced at Olivia. Olivia opened her eyes. Then, in a barely audible voice, she answered: “Sarah.” Daniel turned back toward his computer terminal. The pharmacy profile remained active on the screen. He ran the prescription search once more. Michael Carter was listed as the attending prescriber. Yet, directly beneath the prescription details sat another data field. Patient. He had completely overlooked it initially. Daniel clicked on it. The page refreshed. Patient: Sarah Carter. Date of birth: Deceased. Daniel stared in disbelief. For several long seconds, every sound in the station seemed to vanish entirely. The drumming rain. The hum of the fluorescent lights. The rattling box fan. Michael’s muffled shouting outside. Everything receded into a distant blur. “Officer?” Daniel snapped his gaze to the paramedic. “What is it?” “You need to look at this monitor right now.” Olivia’s heart rate had shifted. The medical monitor began emitting a faster, sharper tone. The paramedic looked up at Daniel with urgency. “We have to move. We’re taking her now.” Daniel gave a sharp nod. As they lifted Olivia onto the stretcher, Emma started to cry. Not loudly. Not hysterically. Just silent tears tracking down her cheeks while she kept a tight grip on her sister’s hand. “Can I go with her?” “Yes, sweetheart,” the paramedic replied. Emma climbed up onto the bench seat beside Olivia. Daniel followed them out toward the exit doors. Suddenly, Michael yelled from beyond the glass partition. “Emma!” The little girl froze in her tracks. Michael’s tone shifted into a soothing register. “Sweetheart, come here to Daddy.” Emma stared right through the glass at him. For a split second, Daniel feared she might head toward the door. Instead, she squeezed Olivia’s hand tighter. Then she muttered something so softly that only Daniel could catch it. “He doesn’t know she survived.” Daniel whirled around. “What did you say?” Emma looked up at him, her face soaked with tears. “Mom.” Daniel’s stomach plummeted. “What about your mother?” Emma’s lips quivered. “She isn’t dead.” Behind them, the ambulance doors slammed shut with a heavy thud. And from the opposite side of the station glass, Michael Carter smiled. Not because his daughters were safe and sound. Because he had just read the words on their lips. And in that flash, Daniel realized Michael had deliberately been waiting for someone inside to voice that truth. The ambulance pulled away into the night. Daniel stood out in the rain beneath the station overhang. Michael stayed put by the secured door. Neither man uttered a word. Then Michael raised his smartphone. He turned the screen toward Daniel to display an image. A photograph. Two small girls standing next to a dark-haired woman. Emma and Olivia. Accompanied by their mother, Sarah. Daniel scrutinized the photograph closely. The woman wore the exact same necklace seen in the pharmacy ID photo linked to the prescription file. Yet, this picture had clearly been captured earlier that very afternoon. Not six months ago. That afternoon. Daniel met Michael’s gaze through the glass. “You told us Sarah was dead.” Michael dropped the phone slightly. “I never claimed that.” “Yes, you explicitly did.” “No,” Michael countered with chilling calm. “I said she had disappeared.” The hair stood up on the back of Daniel’s arms. Michael leaned closer to the glass. “And if you truly want to find out where she is, Officer Reed…” He paused deliberately. “…try asking your own department.” At that exact moment, Michael’s phone began to ring. He glanced down at the display. His expression flickered. For the first time all evening, Daniel saw a flash of genuine fear cross the man’s face. Michael answered the call. He listened. He offered no response. Then, slowly, he raised his eyes to look through the glass at Daniel. “She’s awake,” he whispered. Daniel’s gut tightened. “Who is?” Michael terminated the connection. “Their mother.” Without warning, every single light in the station cut out. For three seconds, pitch blackness enveloped the room. Then the emergency backup lighting flickered to life. Red. dim. Unsteady. Officer Daniel Reed stood frozen behind the service counter, listening to the relentless rain battering the glass. Michael Carter was no longer standing by the front door. Daniel bolted outside. The black SUV was already accelerating away. “Carter!” The vehicle surged forward through the downpour and whipped around the corner, vanishing from sight. Daniel raced back inside and grabbed the desk radio. “Dispatch, this is Reed. I need an urgent vehicle lookout for a black SUV registered to Michael Carter, heading east away from the station. The suspect may be actively fleeing.” Only static answered him. Then absolute silence. Daniel stared down at the radio handset. “Dispatch?” Still nothing. He tried hailing them again. Complete dead air. The entire facility had grown unnaturally quiet. The computer monitors were pitch black. The landline phone was dead. Even the humming box fan had ground to a halt. Daniel hurried over to the breaker box. The main circuit breaker had been thrown off. Not tripped by an overload. Manually switched off. Someone had deliberately sabotaged the power. He shoved the switch back into place. The overhead fluorescent tubes flickered back on sequentially. The computers booted up. Every desk phone began ringing in unison. Daniel jumped slightly. He snatched up the receiver. “Reed.” A woman’s voice spoke on the line. “Officer Reed?” “Yes, speaking.” “My name is Sarah Carter.” Daniel momentarily lost his voice. The voice pressed on. “Where are my daughters?” Daniel gripped the receiver tighter. “Sarah, where are you right now?” A heavy silence hung on the line. Then she whispered: “That doesn’t matter.” “It matters a great deal to me.” “No,” she insisted. “What’s critical is that you ensure Michael doesn’t get to them.” Daniel’s eyes drifted toward the evidence envelope on the desk. “Your daughters are being transported to the hospital.” A shaky, ragged breath came across the wire. “Is Olivia…?” “Yes.” “Is she conscious?” “She was.” Sarah let out a sound like someone fighting back tears. “Then we are running out of time.” Daniel straightened up. “Time for what?” “You located the syringe.” It wasn’t framed as a question. Daniel glanced over at the envelope. “Yes, I did.” “Then he knows you have it.” “Knows what?” Sarah skirted the question. “Sarah?” Her voice dropped to a near-whisper. “Pay close attention to me. Michael isn’t the only one who knows the truth of what happened.” A cold shiver ran down Daniel’s spine. “Who else knows?” “My father.” “Your father?” “He is employed by this very department.” Daniel froze. His gaze drifted slowly toward the framed memorabilia on the wood-paneled wall. Past former police chiefs. Retired commanders. Commendations. Names. Then the memory of the initial call log hit him. Michael had placed the original missing-child call, true. Yet, the responding officer hadn’t been dispatched through routine channels. The assignment order had come straight down from a supervisor. Daniel pulled up the digital incident file on his screen. Right there in black and white. Authorization code: C-17. Supervisor: Captain Harold Voss. Daniel’s stomach dropped into freefall. Captain Voss was the veteran who had taught him, fifteen years ago, never to dismiss a terrified child. He was also the very man who had signed off on Daniel’s recent promotion paperwork. “Sarah,” Daniel said cautiously, “are you trying to tell me someone inside this precinct is assisting Michael?” “No.” “Then what are you saying?” “I’m telling you someone inside this department helped him pull this off before.” Daniel checked the wall clock. 4:29 p.m. Scarcely twelve minutes had elapsed since the two girls first stepped through the front doors. It felt like an entire lifetime had passed. “Where are you hiding?” “I can’t tell you that.” “You called my station.” “Because I needed to confirm whether my girls reached someone they could safely trust.” “You could have just called the hospital directly.” “I don’t know who in the system I can trust anymore.” Daniel closed his eyes in frustration. “Sarah, your daughters told me you were dead.” “I’m aware.” “Why let them believe that?” “Because Michael needed them convinced of it.” Daniel lowered his voice. “Why would a father want his own children to think their mother passed away?” Sarah remained quiet for several beats. Then she revealed: “Because they witnessed me.” “Witnessed you doing what?” “No.” Her voice fractured. “They saw what he did to me.” Daniel’s grip on the phone tightened until his knuckles turned white. “Sarah, what did Michael do to you?” The line went entirely dead silent. Followed by a faint, distant noise. A door latching shut. Sarah whispered: “He’s here.” Daniel sprang to his feet. “Where are you?” “He found me.” “Sarah, call emergency services immediately.” “I already did.” “You called the station?” “No.” Through the earpiece, Daniel heard heavy footsteps approaching on her end. Slow. Heavy. Closing in fast. “Sarah?” Her breathing grew frantic. “Officer Reed, if you have any hope of saving my daughters, do not arrest Michael.” Daniel frowned deeply. “What are you talking about?” “Not yet.” “Why on earth not?” “Because he will talk.” “That’s precisely what we want him to do.” “No.” Sarah’s voice faded to a fragile whisper. “He’ll tell you where the others are.” The line went completely dead. Daniel stared blankly at the receiver in his hand. Others. Not just one child. Others. He instantly dialed the hospital mainline. A nurse picked up. “This is Officer Reed checking in on Olivia Carter.” “She’s currently undergoing treatment.” “Is she conscious yet?” “Not at the moment, Officer.” “Do you have any preliminary read on what she ingested?” The nurse hesitated. “We are still waiting on the toxicology panel.” “Is her sister staying with her?” “Yes, she is.” “Put me through to the attending physician right away.” The nurse transferred the call. Daniel waited anxiously. A man’s voice came on the line. “Officer?” “Yes, Doctor. How is Olivia holding up?” “She’s stable for the time being.” Daniel let out a long breath. “But there is an alarming detail you need to be aware of.” “What is it?” “The substance in her system isn’t acting like a standard pharmaceutical medication.” Daniel’s expression hardened. “Explain what that means.” “We ran initial gastric panels and found traces of an additive.” “What kind of additive?” “I can’t fully confirm the compound yet, but—” “Doctor, please.” A heavy pause hung in the air. “It’s a heavy-grade sedative.” Daniel’s jaw clenched tight. “How potent are we talking?” “More than enough to be lethal for a child of her age and weight.” Daniel looked back toward Emma. The little girl was standing by herself near the window. “Is Olivia going to pull through?” “We are doing everything humanly possible.” Daniel closed his eyes tightly. Then, a soft voice broke the quiet near his elbow. “Officer Reed?” He turned around. Emma was holding out a small, crumpled piece of paper. “Where did you get that?” “Olivia slipped it to me.” “When did she give it to you?” “Before we ever came to the station.” Daniel approached her slowly. “May I see it?” Emma handed it over. The paper had been folded over upon itself four times. Daniel unfolded it carefully. Inside was a crude child’s crayon drawing. A small house. Two young girls. A woman. And a tall man standing directly behind them. The man had been drawn with completely blacked-out eyes where his face should have been. Scrawled underneath the illustration in unsteady handwriting were six chilling words: DADDY SAYS WE ARE NOT FIRST. Daniel stared down at the sentence, immobilized. “What does this mean, Emma?” She shook her head slowly. “He told us we weren’t allowed to ask.” “Who told you that?” “Daddy.” “What else did he say about it?” Emma glanced toward the dark, dead television screen in the corner. “He said there were other little girls before us.” Daniel’s blood turned to ice in his veins. “Other girls?” Emma nodded gravely. “He said they wouldn’t listen to him.” “What happened to them, Emma?” She cast her eyes down at the floor. “They went to sleep.” Daniel dropped to one knee beside her. “And they never woke up?” Emma shook her head negatively. “No.” She swallowed hard. “They woke up somewhere else instead.” At that moment, Daniel’s phone buzzed in his pocket. A text message from an unknown number. He unlocked the screen and opened it. An attached photograph. It was a snapshot from inside a hospital room. Olivia lying motionless beneath a crisp white blanket. Emma standing right beside the bed. Daniel snapped his head up, looking around the room with sudden alarm. Someone had snapped that picture after they arrived at the hospital. Right after, a second message flashed onto the screen: YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE DOOR UNLOCKED. Daniel’s heart hammered against his ribs. He snapped his gaze toward the station entrance. The deadbolt was still fully engaged. Then, the emergency lights flickered erratically once more. Emma gripped his hand hard. “Officer Reed?” “Yes?” She pointed a trembling finger behind him. Toward the door of the old, disused evidence room. The heavy wooden door was slowly, silently drifting open. Daniel’s hand flew instinctively to his service weapon. Before he could draw it, a figure emerged from the deep shadows of the room. She was completely soaked from the rain. Her dark hair was plastered against her pale face. She looked utterly exhausted. Terrified. And hauntingly familiar. Daniel had seen that exact face before. In the photograph on Michael’s phone. Sarah Carter. She raised both hands palms-upward in a defensive gesture. “Please don’t shoot,” she whispered. Daniel stared at her, stunned. “You’re supposed to be dead.” Sarah’s eyes brimmed with sudden tears. “I know.” Then her gaze shifted past him to Emma. The little girl let out a sob and sprinted straight toward her. “Mommy!” Sarah dropped instantly to her knees. Emma threw her arms around her neck, burying her face. For a moment, neither of them spoke a word. Daniel watched the emotional embrace unfold. Then Sarah gently pulled back, cupping Emma’s tear-streaked face in her hands. “Where is Olivia?” “At the hospital,” Daniel answered. Sarah closed her eyes in a wave of relief. “Thank God.” Daniel stepped closer, his detective instincts kicking back in. “Sarah, we need answers right now.” “I know you do.” “Who are the other girls mentioned in the drawing?” Sarah looked straight up at him. Her expression shifted into something grim. “Officer Reed…” “What is it?” “Those other little girls aren’t Michael’s daughters.” Daniel waited, holding his breath. Sarah whispered the final piece of the puzzle: “They are his witnesses.” Without warning, the main station entrance door unlocked itself with a sharp, mechanical click. Daniel spun around. The deadbolt slid smoothly back into its housing on its own. From out in the dark rain came the sound of deliberate footsteps approaching. Sarah grabbed Emma’s hand tightly. And right then, a familiar, authoritative voice called out from beyond the threshold as the door pushed open. Captain Harold Voss. “Daniel.” A brief pause. “Step away from that woman right now.” Daniel didn’t budge an inch. Sarah’s face went completely bloodless. She whispered: “That’s him.” Daniel looked down at her. “Who?” Sarah stared fixedly at the doorway. “The man Michael was always terrified of.” The doorknob began to turn. For three seconds, the station was completely dark. Then the emergency lights flickered on. Red. Dim. Unsteady. Daniel Reed stood motionless behind the counter, listening to the rain strike the windows. Michael Carter was gone from the glass door. Daniel rushed outside. The SUV was already pulling away. “Carter!” The vehicle accelerated through the rain and disappeared around the corner. Daniel ran back inside and grabbed the radio. “Dispatch, this is Reed. I need an immediate vehicle alert for a black SUV, Carter, Michael, heading east from the station. Suspect may be attempting to flee.” Static answered him. Then nothing. Daniel looked at the radio. “Dispatch?” Still nothing. He tried again. Nothing. The entire station had gone strangely quiet. The computer screens were black. The desk phone was dead. Even the box fan had stopped. Daniel walked to the electrical panel. The main breaker had been switched off. Not tripped. Switched off. Someone had deliberately cut the power. He turned it back on. The fluorescent lights returned one row at a time. The computers restarted. The phones rang simultaneously. Daniel nearly jumped. He picked up the desk phone. “Reed.” A woman’s voice answered. “Officer Reed?” “Yes.” “My name is Sarah Carter.” Daniel couldn’t speak. The voice continued. “Where are my daughters?” Daniel gripped the receiver. “Sarah, where are you?” Silence. Then she whispered: “That’s not important.” “It is to me.” “No,” she said. “What matters is that you don’t let Michael find them.” Daniel’s eyes moved toward the evidence envelope. “Your daughters are being taken to the hospital.” A shaky breath came through the line. “Olivia?” “Yes.” “Is she conscious?” “She was.” Sarah made a sound like someone trying not to cry. “Then there isn’t much time.” Daniel stood straighter. “Time for what?” “You found the syringe.” It wasn’t a question. Daniel looked toward the envelope. “Yes.” “Then he knows.” “Knows what?” Sarah didn’t answer. “Sarah?” Her voice became quieter. “Listen carefully. Michael isn’t the only person who knows what happened.” Daniel felt a chill run through him. “Who else?” “My father.” “Your father?” “He works for the department.” Daniel stopped. His eyes moved slowly toward the framed photographs on the wall. Past police chiefs. Retired commanders. Awards. Names. Then he remembered the call log. The original missing-child report had been filed by Michael. But the responding officer had not been assigned by dispatch. The assignment had come directly from a supervisor. Daniel opened the incident record. There it was. Authorization code: C-17. Supervisor: Captain Harold Voss. Daniel’s stomach tightened. Captain Voss had been the person who taught him, fifteen years earlier, never to ignore a frightened child. He had also been the officer who signed Daniel’s promotion papers. “Sarah,” Daniel said carefully, “are you telling me someone inside this station is helping Michael?” “No.” “Then what are you telling me?” “I’m telling you someone inside this department helped him before.” Daniel looked at the clock. 4:29 p.m. Only twelve minutes had passed since the girls walked through the door. It felt like twelve hours. “Where are you?” “I can’t tell you.” “You called me.” “Because I needed to know whether the girls reached someone they could trust.” “You could have called the hospital.” “I don’t know who I can trust.” Daniel closed his eyes. “Sarah, your daughters said you were dead.” “I know.” “Why?” “Because Michael needed them to believe it.” Daniel’s voice dropped. “Why would he want his own children to think their mother was dead?” Sarah was silent for several seconds. Then she said: “Because they saw me.” “Saw you doing what?” “No.” Her voice broke. “They saw what he did to me.” Daniel’s hand tightened around the phone. “Sarah, what did Michael do?” The line went silent. Then came a faint sound. A door closing. Sarah whispered: “He’s here.” Daniel stood instantly. “Where?” “He found me.” “Sarah, call emergency services.” “I did.” “You called us?” “No.” Daniel heard footsteps on her end. Slow. Heavy. Getting closer. “Sarah?” Her breathing became rapid. “Officer Reed, if you want to save my daughters, don’t arrest Michael.” Daniel frowned. “What?” “Not yet.” “Why?” “Because he’ll talk.” “That’s what we want.” “No.” Sarah’s voice became almost inaudible. “He’ll tell you where the others are.” The line went dead. Daniel stared at the receiver. Others. Not one. Others. He immediately called the hospital. A nurse answered. “This is Officer Reed. I’m calling about Olivia Carter.” “She’s in treatment.” “Is she conscious?” “Not currently.” “Any idea what she swallowed?” The nurse hesitated. “We’re waiting on toxicology.” “Is her sister with her?” “Yes.” “Put me through to the physician.” The nurse transferred the call. Daniel waited. Then a man’s voice came through. “Officer?” “Yes. How is Olivia?” “Stable for the moment.” Daniel exhaled. “But there is something you need to know.” “What?” “The substance isn’t behaving like a normal medication.” Daniel’s expression hardened. “What does that mean?” “We found traces of something in her stomach.” “What?” “I can’t confirm it yet.” “Doctor, please.” A pause. “It’s a sedative.” Daniel’s jaw tightened. “How strong?” “Strong enough that the amount could have been dangerous for a child.” Daniel looked toward Emma. She was standing alone near the window. “Is Olivia going to survive?” “We’re doing everything we can.” Daniel closed his eyes. Then he heard another voice. Small. Shaking. “Officer Reed?” He turned. Emma was holding something. A folded piece of paper. “Where did you get that?” “Olivia gave it to me.” “When?” “Before we came here.” Daniel approached slowly. “What is it?” Emma handed it to him. The paper had been folded four times. Daniel opened it. Inside was a child’s drawing. A house. Two girls. A woman. And a man standing behind them. The man had been drawn with no eyes. Underneath the picture, in uneven handwriting, were six words: DADDY SAYS WE ARE NOT FIRST. Daniel stared at the sentence. “What does this mean?” Emma shook her head. “He told us not to ask.” “Who did?” “Daddy.” “What did he say?” Emma looked toward the dead television in the corner. “He said there were other girls before us.” Daniel’s blood ran cold. “Other girls?” Emma nodded. “He said they didn’t listen.” “What happened to them?” Emma looked down. “They went to sleep.” Daniel crouched beside her. “And never woke up?” Emma shook her head. “No.” She swallowed. “They woke up somewhere else.” Daniel’s phone vibrated. A message. Unknown number. He opened it. There was a photograph. A hospital room. Olivia lying unconscious beneath a white blanket. Emma standing beside her. Daniel looked up sharply. Someone had photographed them after the ambulance arrived. Then another message appeared. YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE DOOR UNLOCKED. Daniel’s heart pounded. He looked toward the station entrance. The deadbolt was still engaged. Then the lights flickered again. Emma grabbed his hand. “Officer Reed?” “Yes?” She pointed behind him. At the old evidence room. The door was slowly opening. Daniel reached for his weapon. But before he could move, a woman stepped out of the darkness. She was soaked from the rain. Her hair was plastered against her face. She looked exhausted. Terrified. And very familiar. Daniel had seen her face before. In the photograph. Sarah Carter. She raised both hands. “Please,” she whispered. Daniel stared at her. “You’re supposed to be dead.” Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. “I know.” Then she looked at Emma. And the little girl ran toward her. “Mommy.” Sarah dropped to her knees. Emma threw her arms around her. For a moment, neither of them spoke. Daniel watched them embrace. Then Sarah pulled away and held Emma’s face between her hands. “Where is Olivia?” “The hospital.” Sarah closed her eyes. “Thank God.” Daniel stepped closer. “Sarah, we need answers.” “I know.” “Who are the other girls?” Sarah looked at him. Her expression changed. “Officer Reed…” “What?” “The other girls aren’t Michael’s daughters.” Daniel waited. Sarah whispered: “They’re witnesses.” Then the station door unlocked by itself. A single click. Daniel turned. The deadbolt slid back. From somewhere outside came the sound of footsteps. Sarah grabbed Emma’s hand. And this time, Daniel heard a familiar voice coming through the door. Captain Voss. “Daniel.” A pause. “Step away from the woman.” Daniel didn’t move. Sarah’s face went white. Then she whispered: “That’s him.” Daniel looked at her. “Who?” Sarah stared at the door. “The man Michael was afraid of.” The handle began to turn. The door handle turned. Daniel Reed raised his hand. “Stay back.” Sarah pulled Emma behind her. Captain Harold Voss stepped into the station. His uniform was soaked from the rain, but his expression was calm. Too calm. He looked at Daniel. Then Sarah. Then Emma. For several seconds, nobody spoke. Finally, Voss sighed. “Daniel, you don’t understand what you’re walking into.” Daniel kept his hand near his holster. “Then explain it.” Voss looked at Sarah. “You were supposed to stay hidden.” Sarah’s voice trembled. “I stayed hidden for six years.” “Because I protected you.” “No,” Sarah said. “You protected Michael.” Voss’s expression hardened. Daniel stepped between them. “Captain, I need you to put your hands where I can see them.” Voss slowly raised his hands. “Listen to me before you make a mistake.” Daniel shook his head. “I’ve made enough mistakes today.” Voss looked toward the evidence envelope. “You found the syringe.” “Yes.” “And the pharmacy record.” “Yes.”