Chapter 1
"You kidnapped my kids!"
Daniel Harper's voice echoed across the snow-covered street.
Three police officers turned toward me.
My eight-year-old niece tightened her grip around my waist so hard I could barely breathe.
She was still shaking.
Not from fear anymore.
From the cold.
Her little brother stood beside me wrapped in a gray blanket, clutching a worn stuffed rabbit with fingers so numb he could barely hold it.
Blue lights flashed across the snow.
Neighbors peeked through their curtains.
My sister-in-law, Paige, already had her phone pointed at me.
She was recording.
Of course she was.
"Everybody needs to see what she did!" Paige shouted.
"She stole our children!"
One officer looked at me.
"Ma'am, is that true?"
I didn't answer immediately.
Instead...
I looked down at Lily.
Her cheeks were pale.
Her lips were still tinged blue.
She looked up at me with terrified eyes.
"Please don't make us go back."
My heart shattered.
Daniel heard her.
"So now you've coached them?"
He laughed bitterly.
"I knew you'd try something like this."
I finally looked at my older brother.
Thirty-seven years old.
Successful.
Respected.
The kind of father people praised on social media.
No one saw what happened after the cameras stopped rolling.
The senior officer stepped between us.
"Sir, let's keep our voices down."
Daniel pointed directly at me.
"She picked them up without permission."
"That's kidnapping."
Paige nodded dramatically.
"We've got witnesses."
I almost smiled.
Witnesses.
Interesting choice of words.
Because I had something much better.
Evidence.
The officer turned to me.
"Ms. Bennett?"
I slowly reached into my coat pocket.
Pulled out my phone.
Unlocked it.
"I documented everything before calling 911."
Daniel's confident expression flickered.
Only for a second.
But I noticed.
"So did my security cameras."
May you like
That was the moment...
His smile disappeared.
