My heart hammered against my ribs.

“What does it say?” I asked in a quiet whisper.

Ryker showed me the screen as Marco’s next message arrived.

*The call came from a residential address in Cicero. Vivian Mercer is there. She’s hiding.*

I stared at the name.

Vivian Mercer was the twins’ former guardian, the one who had disappeared right before the children were abandoned at O’Hare.

*I am heading there now to get her,* Marco’s message concluded. *Secure yourselves. The police are ten minutes out.*

Outside the steel door, a heavy object shattered against the floor.

“They’re looking for the safe,” Tessa whispered, her voice shaking.

“Let them look,” Ryker said, not taking his eyes off his phone. “They won’t get through this door with hand tools.”

“But if Marco is going after Vivian, we need to know why she did it,” I said.

“Vivian wouldn’t just abandon those kids,” Ryker muttered, looking at the dark wall. “She loved Mara. There has to be more to this.”

“Gideon must have forced her hand,” Tessa suggested, closing the laptop slightly to dim the light.