He nodded, accepting the boundary.

The car stopped in front of my gate.

I got out immediately and walked up the stone path to the front door.

I unlocked it and stepped into the warm hallway.

“Emma!”

Clara came running out of the kitchen.

She looked pale, her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.

“Are they okay?” I asked, grabbing her shoulders.

“They are fine,” Clara said, her voice shaking. “They are upstairs in the playroom. They don’t know anything happened.”

She looked past me and saw Blake standing in the doorway.

Her expression hardened.

“Why is he here?” she asked.

“He helped stop the police,” I said. “He stepped down from his company.”

Clara stared at Blake.

Blake stayed near the door, his hands in his pockets.

“I won’t come in if it makes you uncomfortable,” Blake said to Clara. “I just wanted to make sure they were safe.”

“They are safe,” Clara said. “But your mother is insane.”

“I know,” Blake said.

I walked upstairs to the playroom.

The sound of laughing and toy blocks crashing came from behind the door.