Chapter 1
My blood turned to ice.
"Grandpa is luring Dad out of the meeting room."
Ava's small voice hung in the air, trembling but clear.
I froze.
Every muscle in my body locked up.
Those weren't the words of a frightened four-year-old making something up.
They were too precise.
Too exact.
Mason moved fast, stepping between me and Ava, his hand shooting out to grab my jacket.
"Forget what she said," he snarled, yanking me toward him.
But I was already moving.
He swung first.
I saw the punch coming, slipped it by an inch, and drove my own fist into his face with everything I had.
The crack of bone echoed.
Mason spun backward, his body slamming into the rolling stage-riser dolly.
Metal shrieked.
Platform sections slid apart.
Scenery cubes went flying in every direction.
The cable trunk burst open as he crashed through the collapsing lower frame, wires spilling out like dead snakes.
Then Rebecca moved.
She lunged toward Ava, her hands outstretched like claws.
Rage exploded in my chest.
I caught her wrist mid-reach, tore her hand away from my daughter, and delivered an open-handed slap that thundered through the empty auditorium.
Rebecca's head snapped sideways.
She spun through the freestanding poster frame, shattering it.
Programs scattered across the carpet like fallen leaves as she collapsed beside the audience bench, groaning.
I didn't look at her.
I slowly turned toward Charles.
My father-in-law.
The man who was supposed to be family.
He stood frozen near the council doors, his face pale, his eyes darting.
"You hurt her to draw me out?" My voice was low, dangerous.
Charles said nothing.
"Who did you send in after I left?"
His eyes instinctively flicked toward the closed council doors.
I followed his gaze.
But one detail burned in my mind, hotter than my anger.
Ava had not said, "Grandpa wanted you."
She had said luring Dad out of the meeting room.
Those were very precise words for a frightened four-year-old.
Which meant Ava had probably heard an adult say exactly what they were doing.
She'd overheard them.
She'd understood enough to know I was in danger.
And she'd come to warn me anyway.
My heart squeezed in my chest.
I looked at my little girl, standing there with tears in her eyes but her chin held high.
She was braver than any adult in this room.
The council doors rattled.
Someone was trying to open them from the inside.
I stepped in front of Ava, shielding her with my body.
My fists were still clenched.
My blood was still boiling.
But now I had something more important than anger.
May you like
I had a daughter to protect.
The doors burst open.
