Detective Miller was the first one out, his badge gleaming under the airfield floodlights.

“Police! Shut down the engines immediately!” Miller shouted through a megaphone.

Two uniformed officers climbed out behind him, their hands resting on their holsters.

Daniel did not move. He kept his grip on Lucas’s shoulder.

“This is private property,” Daniel called down, his voice projecting over the wind.

“You are disrupting a private flight. My family owns this hangar.”

“Not anymore, Mr. Carter,” Miller said, walking toward the base of the stairs.

“The state attorney general has issued an emergency freeze on all Carter family assets, including this aircraft.”

Daniel’s face tightened, his eyes darting toward the cockpit window of the plane.

The pilot was looking back at him through the glass, his hands resting on the controls.

“This is a custody dispute,” Daniel said, his voice dropping to a sharp hiss.

“I have an emergency custody order signed by Judge Vance.”

“That order was stayed two hours ago,” I said, stepping up to the bottom of the stairs.

I looked up at my sons.

“Lucas, Mason, come down to me,” I called out.