She was bound, and a dark cloth was draped over her shoulders.

She wasn’t in a safe house.

Below the photo, a single line of text appeared.

*You took my family. I took yours.*

I spun around, looking at the empty doorway where Julian had just been led out.

Julian was in handcuffs, and Eleanor was in the back of a police cruiser.

But someone else was still out there.

My eyes darted to the crowd of guests, then to the side exit where Gareth had been standing.

Gareth was gone.

My phone vibrated again in my hand.

I stared at the glowing screen, my thumb trembling against the glass.

The second text was a set of coordinates and a time.

*Thirty minutes. The old boat house on the north canal. Come alone, or she drowns.*

I grabbed Nora’s arm, my fingers digging into her wool coat.

“What is it, Madeline?” she asked, looking down at my hand.

I shoved the phone into her face.

Her eyes scanned the screen, and her mouth fell open.

“We have police details at the clinic,” Nora whispered. “How did he get to her?”