Chapter 1 - THE BRACELET
Nathan stared at the silver bracelet in his hand.
He recognized it immediately.
Their mother had given it to Sarah on her eighteenth birthday.
Nathan had paid to have the engraving added after Sarah joked that he always stole her things.
Property of Sarah Carter.
2018.
The date was not Sarah’s birthday.
It was the year she disappeared.
The year Marcus told Nathan that Sarah had sold every piece of jewelry connected to the Pierce family.
The year Marcus claimed she wanted nothing more to do with her brother.
Nathan had believed him.
He had believed every carefully delivered lie because anger was easier than admitting he had failed his little sister.
The wail of approaching sirens cut through the storm.
Rosa wrapped the twins in warm towels while Nathan checked Lily’s breathing.
The girl’s body remained dangerously cold.
Her pulse was faint and slow beneath his fingertips.
“Stay with me, Lily,” Nathan whispered.
“You found the house.”
“You brought them home.”
Lily’s eyelids fluttered.
“Mommy said the bracelet would make you believe us.”
Nathan leaned closer.
“Believe what?”
Her lips barely moved.
“She didn’t leave you.”
The words struck deeper than any accusation could have.
Nathan looked again at the bracelet.
A thin line ran around the clasp.
It was not part of the original design.
Someone had cut into the silver and sealed it again.
Nathan used a small surgical instrument from his emergency kit to pry it open.
A narrow strip of waterproof paper had been folded inside.
Only three lines were written on it.
Nathan, Marcus controls everything.
He forged the letters.
If Lily reaches you, I may already be dead.
Nathan’s hands began to shake.
The front doors opened.
Paramedics rushed inside carrying insulated blankets, oxygen, and warming equipment.
A deputy sheriff followed them.
Nathan handed Lily to the emergency team, then carefully placed the twins into separate carriers.
“Three pediatric hypothermia cases,” he told them.
“The girl is five.”
“The twins appear to be less than six months old.”
One paramedic looked at the soaked blanket.
“How long were they outside?”
“We don’t know.”
Lily made a weak sound as they lifted her.
Nathan moved beside the stretcher.
“Her mother is missing.”
The deputy took out a notebook.
“Where was she last seen?”
“A house somewhere down the mountain.”
Nathan held up Sarah’s hidden message.
“And the man who attacked her knows these children came here.”
As if summoned by the warning, headlights appeared beyond the glass walls.
A black truck stopped outside the locked iron gates.
A man stepped into the blizzard.
Even through the snow, Nathan recognized Marcus Kane.
May you like
Marcus looked directly toward the house.
Then he lifted one hand and pointed at Lily.
