“At four in the morning?” I asked, my heart dropping.

“They didn’t wait for the scheduled hearing,” Ryker said.

“They found a judge who was willing to sign an order immediately.”

“Who is the judge?” Marco asked, stepping forward.

“Judge Vance,” Ryker said, his voice cold as ice.

Marco swore under his breath.

“Vance is dirty,” Marco said. “He has been on Marissa’s family estate payroll for years.”

“What does the order say?” I asked, a sick feeling rising in my stomach.

Ryker looked up from the screen, his eyes dark with worry.

“It is an emergency custody order,” Ryker said.

“It demands the immediate return of the children to their legal guardian.”

“Marissa,” I whispered.

“The police are already on their way here to enforce it,” Ryker said.

The room felt suddenly cold, as if the heat had been shut off in the middle of the Chicago winter.

I looked at Clara, whose face had gone completely white.

She reached out and pulled Owen closer to her side.

“They can’t do this,” Clara whispered, her voice trembling. “She abandoned them at an airport.”