It was a live broadcast from the sidewalk outside the Philadelphia county courthouse.

Nolan stood before a cluster of microphones, flanked by two attorneys in dark suits.

He looked pale, his tie slightly loosened, the perfect picture of a grieving, desperate father.

“My wife, Evelyn, is a wonderful woman,” Nolan was saying to the cameras, his voice carrying a practiced tremor.

“But her family is incredibly powerful.”

“They have used their immense wealth to isolate her, to cut me off from my newborn daughter, Maisie.”

A reporter held out a microphone. “Mr. Pierce, are you saying the Hartwell Civic Group is holding your child?”

Nolan looked directly into the camera lens.

“I am saying that wealth should not buy custody,” he said, his eyes shining with tears that never fell.

“I only want to see my daughter.”

“I want to make sure she is safe in that house.”

The feed cut back to the studio anchor, who looked suitably grave as a banner scrolled across the bottom of the screen: *Billionaire Family Accused of Withholding Newborn.*

I stared at the screen, my hands clenching into fists at my sides.