“Let’s get my daughter,” he said. “Then I will show you how we destroy them.”

We walked quickly up the concrete path to Mrs. Ramirez’s front porch.

The front door unlocked immediately, and Mrs. Ramirez pulled us inside, shutting the cold out behind us.

The living room was warm, smelling of cinnamon and old books.

In the corner, a small bassinet stood near the radiator.

I rushed over and looked down at Sophie, who was sleeping peacefully under a pink blanket.

My hand trembled as I touched her soft cheek.

“They want to take her from me,” I whispered, the tears finally spilling over my eyelashes.

Mrs. Ramirez placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“They cannot take a child from her mother, Grace,” she said softly.

“You don’t know them,” I said, looking back at Julian, who was looking out the window through a crack in the blinds.

“The sedan is still there,” Julian reported, his voice tense.

He turned back to face me, his expression grim.

“We don’t have much time before they try to serve those papers.”