Chapter 6 6

The hotel room in Monterey was stifling. Emma sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at her laptop. Casey had sent the first batch of documents, but Emma couldn't focus.

Her phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

It was a video file.

Emma pressed play, her stomach dropping.

The Hardy townhouse living room was decorated floor-to-ceiling in Frozen theme. Balloons, streamers, a cake shaped like a castle.

Darius was holding Sophie in his arms, laughing. Ashlea stood next to them, holding a giant cake knife, beaming at the camera.

"Thank you, Daddy and Auntie Ashlea!" Sophie squealed into the camera. "This is the best birthday ever!"

At the end of the video, Ashlea threw her arms around Darius's neck. He pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Sophie's birthday. They were celebrating Sophie's birthday without her, replacing her completely with Ashlea.

A red-hot fury blinded Emma. She hurled the phone onto the mattress. Her chest tightened; she couldn't breathe. She needed air.

She walked aimlessly, her feet carrying her to Dennis the Menace Park. The sounds of children laughing and playing usually brought her peace. Today, it felt like salt in an open wound.

She sat on a bench near the swings, watching the kids.

A flash of pink caught her eye.

The little girl from the airport. Summer. She was sitting alone on a swing, dragging her shoes in the dirt, looking lonely.

Suddenly, a gust of wind tore a pink balloon from Summer's grasp. The little girl gasped and bolted after it, heading straight toward the busy road bordering the park. A man in a dark hoodie, who had been jogging nearby, saw her and sprinted to intercept.

He lunged, grabbing Summer around the waist just before she reached the curb, lifting her off her feet.

Summer, startled by the sudden grab, struggled and let out a sharp cry.

Emma's brain short-circuited. Kidnapper.

She didn't think. She launched off the bench. A gardener had left a small hand trowel on the grass. Emma snatched it up, gripping the metal handle tight.

"Hey! Stop! Put the kid down!" Emma screamed, sprinting after them.

The man, trying to balance the squirming child and step back from the traffic, didn't hear her over the roar of a passing truck. He turned hastily toward the parking lot to get away from the street.

Adrenaline surged through Emma's veins. She was fast. She cut across the lawn, closing the distance.

She caught up to him near the fence. She didn't hesitate. She raised the trowel and brought it down hard on the man's back.

"Oof!" The man grunted, stumbling to a halt and instinctively shielding the child.

He turned around. The little girl in his arms stopped crying and burst into giggles.

"Daddy, you got me! I almost catched the balloon!" Summer laughed, clapping her hands.

The man reached up and pulled back his hood, panting heavily.

It was the father from the airport. Kingston.

He winced, rubbing his lower back, and gave Emma a pained, confused look. "Ma'am... I was just stopping her from running into traffic."