Annelise didn't look back. She grabbed Algernon's hand, hauled Clemie onto her hip, and ran.

They burst out of the side exit into the chaotic scene at the curb. The Rolls Royce was listing to one side, its alarm blaring. Security guards were running toward the car, shouting into their radios.

This way! Algernon yelled, pointing toward the parking garage. "Level B! Blind spots!"

They sprinted across the access road, dodging a shuttle bus that honked angrily.

Stop them! Casimiro's voice roared from behind them, carrying the authority of his employer.

Annelise's lungs burned. Her legs felt like lead. But the fear of that man in the car-the faceless phantom whose presence felt identical to the one that haunted her nightmares-gave her wings.

Two men in black suits peeled away from the car and started chasing them. They were fast.

Blace! Annelise gasped.

Blace was lagging behind, dragging the suitcases. He let go of the handles.

Leave them! he shouted.

He grabbed a row of metal luggage carts parked near the entrance to the garage. With a grunt of effort, he shoved the whole row sideways.

The carts crashed into each other, creating a metal barricade across the path.

The first bodyguard slammed into the carts, cursing.

They made it into the dim concrete throat of the parking garage.

Where now? Annelise panted.

Yellow Cab, Algernon directed, looking at his watch. "Exit 4. There is a taxi dropping off a passenger. Timing is... now."

They rounded a concrete pillar. Sure enough, a yellow taxi was just pulling to the curb, a passenger getting out.

Annelise didn't wait. She shoved the passenger-a startled businessman-aside before he had fully retrieved his bag.

Sorry! she yelled. She threw the kids into the back seat and dove in after them.

Drive! she screamed at the driver. She pulled a wad of cash from her pocket-her emergency fund-and threw a hundred-dollar bill onto the front seat. "Drive! Just go! Queens!"

The driver, a heavyset man with a thick beard, looked at the money, then at the pursuing bodyguards in the rearview mirror.

He grinned. "You got it, lady."

He slammed on the gas. The taxi screeched away, tires smoking, leaving the bodyguards shouting in the exhaust fumes.

Back at the curb, Archibald watched the yellow tail lights disappear into the traffic. His own security was helping him out of the now-lopsided Phantom.

He stood perfectly still, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. His knuckles were white.

Sir, Casimiro panted, running up to him. "The car is disabled. The tires were... chemically corroded at the valves."

Archibald didn't care about the car. He didn't care about the money.

He turned to Casimiro. His face was terrifyingly calm.

Did you see the boy? Archibald asked softly.

The... the one who attacked Jenelle?

The one with my eyes, Archibald corrected. "The one who disabled my car with a toy."

Casimiro swallowed hard. "The resemblance is... significant, sir."

I'm not interested in significance right now, Archibald snapped. "I'm interested in location. I want to know who those children are. I want to know where she has been hiding them. My original plan was flawed. She's not a socialite to be intimidated; she's a survivor. We're switching to Plan B."

He walked toward the backup SUV that had pulled up, ignoring Jenelle, who was now being attended to by a different guard.

Pull the city surveillance, Archibald ordered. "Access the NYPD grid. Use the facial recognition software. I want that taxi found. I want that woman's final destination. I need her pinned down so I can execute the next phase."

He climbed into the dark leather seat, his heart pounding a rhythm he hadn't felt in years.

He closed his eyes, and the image of the boy's face burned behind his eyelids.

And Annelise. The look on her face.

Rapist.

Why had she called him that? She was the cheater. She was the one who had betrayed him. Why did she look at him with such genuine, horrifying fear? It didn't add up. The pieces of the puzzle were all wrong.

Find them, Archibald whispered to the empty air. "And secure the asset next door. I'm going in myself."

In the taxi, Annelise pulled the kids into a pile, hugging them so tight it hurt. She was sobbing, dry, heaving sobs that shook her whole body.

It's okay, Mom, Blace said, patting her arm awkwardly. "We got away. I melted his tires. It was awesome."

Don't ever do that again, Annelise cried, kissing his dirty forehead. "You could have been hurt."

He was big, Clemie whispered, her eyes wide. "The man in the big car... he smelled like... sadness. And rain."

Annelise shuddered. She knew that smell. It was the smell of the man who had ruined her life. She didn't know how the enforcer for her phantom husband could smell exactly like her attacker. The coincidence was so terrifying it felt like a curse.

And now, he knew they were here.

The taxi dropped them off in front of a motel in Queens that looked like it was held together by grime and bad intentions. The neon sign buzzed ominously, the "NO" in "NO VACANCY" flickering on and off.

Are you sure about this place, lady? the driver asked, eyeing a group of rough-looking men on the corner.

It's fine, Annelise said, handing him another bill. "Thank you."

It wasn't fine. It was a rat hole. But it was cash-only, and it didn't require ID scanning.

They hurried into the lobby, which smelled of stale smoke and bleach. Annelise paid for a room on the second floor, using the name "Mary Smith."

The room was small, with two sagging double beds and peeling floral wallpaper.

Check the room, Annelise said automatically. It was a game they played, but today it wasn't a game.

Algernon went to the TV. He pulled it away from the wall and disconnected the coaxial cable. "No smart devices," he muttered. He checked the phone, unscrewing the mouthpiece to check for bugs. "Clear."

Blace dragged a heavy armchair and wedged it under the door handle. He took a glass cup from the bathroom and balanced it on the doorknob. If anyone turned it, the glass would fall and break.

Perimeter secure, Blace announced.

Clemie took out a small spray bottle of lavender sanitizer she made herself and started spraying the pillows. "Germs," she whispered. "So many germs."

Annelise sat on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. She felt like she was vibrating.

Mom? Algernon stood in front of her. "Who was that man at the airport? Logically, based on his intense reaction and a preliminary facial structure analysis, probability suggests he could be a biological relative."

Annelise looked up, her heart aching at their innocent but sharp questions. "No, Algy. That's a coincidence," she said firmly. "Your biological father was... just a stranger from a long time ago. Someone I never saw again."

Then who was the man chasing us? Blace asked, his voice hard, tiny fists clenched.

That was Archibald Sanders's security team, Annelise said haltingly, the name leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. "The Sanders family is very dangerous, powerful. He is my ex-husband."

If he's not our dad, why do we have to hide from him? Clemie asked softly, pausing her sanitizing.

Because of his pride and his control, Annelise explained, her voice trembling slightly. "Archibald is a ruthless billionaire. If he finds out I had children right around the time our marriage ended, he will view it as a betrayal, a stain on his reputation. He won't care who the real father is. He has the money and the lawyers to ruin us. He could take you away just to punish me, or use you as pawns."

He won't take us, Blace vowed, punching his palm. "I won't let him."

We need a plan, Algernon said. He sat cross-legged on the floor with his tablet. "I am accessing the local Wi-Fi. I'm routing through three proxies to mask our location."

Annelise watched him work. "Be careful, Algy."

Wait, Algernon said, his brow furrowing. "This is interesting."

What?

I'm scanning local private security chatter. There's a high-priority alert out for a woman and three children on The Sanders Group's corporate network. It's modern, encrypted with AES-256. That's his company hunting us.

Annelise felt a chill. "He's using his own army to hunt us."

But there's more, Algernon said, his voice dropping. "I've detected a separate query, routed from inside that network to a much older, private server. The encryption is archaic... almost twenty years old. It's a different system entirely."

His fingers flew across the screen. "Got it. It's the Sanders Family Trust's private server. It's not connected to the corporation. This is... personal. I'm in."

The name Hilliard, Archibald's powerful and shadowy grandfather, flashed in Annelise's mind. The thought of the old patriarch having a separate, secret network made a deeper, colder fear coil in her gut.

What's on it? she whispered.

Algernon's face was grim. "It's a query. An old one, reactivated an hour ago. It's not looking for you, Mom. It's a standing order to flag and report on 'children with exceptional cognitive or kinetic abilities' that enter the New York area. They're not just hunting a person. They're hunting prodigies. Like trophies."

Turn it off, Annelise said. "Turn it all off. We can't be online."

Night fell. The sounds of sirens wailed outside the thin window.

The kids fell asleep in one bed, tangled together like puppies. Annelise sat in the chair by the window, watching the street through a crack in the curtains.

She held her phone. She debated calling the one number she had. The man who had helped them in Europe. But she couldn't drag him into this.

High above the city, in the penthouse of Sanders Tower, Archibald was staring at a screen too.

We found the taxi, Casimiro said. "Dropped off in Queens. The Starlight Motel."

Archibald stood up. "Get the team. We go now."

Sir, it's 2 AM.

I don't care. Archibald buttoned his black coat. "I want answers."

Back at the motel, Annelise's eyes were heavy. She was drifting off.

Then she heard it.

Clink.

The glass fell off the doorknob and shattered on the floor.

Annelise bolted upright.

The door didn't open. It was just a test. Someone trying the handle.

Mom? Blace woke up instantly, sliding off the bed into a crouch.

Shh, Annelise hissed.

Then the window exploded.

Glass showered into the room like deadly confetti.

Before Annelise could scream, a black canister rolled across the carpet, stopping right in the center of the room.

BANG.

A flash of blinding white light and a concussive boom rocked the small space.

Annelise fell back, her ears ringing, her vision washed out in white.

Mom!

Get down!

The door splintered inward as a battering ram hit it. Men in tactical gear swarmed into the room, their movements precise and terrifying.

Secure the targets! a voice shouted.

Annelise scrambled toward the bed, blindly reaching for the kids. "No! Leave them alone!"

She felt rough hands grab her arms, hauling her back. She kicked and screamed, fighting with the desperation of a cornered animal.

Clear!

Target One secured.

Target Two secured.

Blace launched himself at a guard, biting the man's arm. The guard grunted, swiftly but firmly pinning the boy's arms to his sides. "Stop fighting, kid, or you'll get hurt."

Blace! Annelise screamed, her throat tearing.

Don't hurt him! He's just a boy!

Casimiro stepped into the room, stepping over the broken glass. He looked calm, apologetic even.

He's unharmed, ma'am. Just restrained, Casimiro said.

You monsters! Annelise spat at him.

Take the children to the secure transport, Casimiro ordered. "Separate vehicle."

No! No, please! Annelise begged, thrashing against her captors. "Don't separate us! Please, I'll do anything! Just don't take them!"

She watched helplessly as a guard carried a thrashing and shouting Blace out. Another carried a crying Clemie. Algernon walked on his own, his hands zip-tied, looking back at Annelise with a terrifyingly blank expression.

Just before he was pushed out the door, Algernon kicked his tablet. It slid under the bed, deep into the shadows.

Ma'am, Casimiro said. "Mr. Sanders wants to see you."

Annelise's heart froze. Mr. Sanders? The phantom? The recluse she had been married to on paper? After all these years, he was finally showing his face? "I will kill him," Annelise sobbed. "I will kill him."

Bring her, Casimiro said.

They pulled a black hood over her head. The world went dark again. Just like the nightmare.

Annelise was dragged down the stairs, thrown into the back of an SUV. She sat in the dark, listening to the tires hum on the asphalt, praying to a God she hadn't believed in for years.

The ride took twenty minutes. Then the car stopped. She was hauled out, led through echoing concrete corridors, into an elevator that shot upward so fast her ears popped.

Finally, the hood was yanked off.

She blinked, blinded by the harsh lights of an interrogation room. Or maybe it was an office. It was sleek, modern, cold.

And he was there.

Archibald sat in a leather chair, watching her. He had shed his jacket. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the top, his sleeves rolled up.

Annelise recognized him immediately from the few cold, intimidating photographs she had seen during their brief, paper-only marriage. The broad shoulders, the stormy eyes, the sheer, suffocating aura of power. This was Archibald Sanders.

Hello, wife, Archibald said.

Annelise stood up, her legs shaking but holding her weight. "Where are my children?"

They are safe, Archibald said calmly. "They are being examined by my medical team."

Examined? Annelise's stomach lurched. "If you touch them..."

I need to know what they are, Archibald said, standing up. He walked around the desk, leaning against it. "That boy... the one who disabled my car. That's not normal, Annelise. Normal five-year-olds don't know how to build corrosive chemical devices."

"You're insane," Annelise spat, her confusion warring with her terror. "You drag me here like a criminal just because my son protected me?"

Archibald raised an eyebrow, a flicker of dark amusement in his eyes. And the eyes? Archibald asked softly. He took a step closer. "Why does he have my eyes?"

Annelise stared at him, bewildered and disgusted by his arrogance. "Your eyes? You're delusional," she spat, her voice trembling with anger. "They are blue. Millions of people have blue eyes. Don't try to project your twisted ego onto my children!"

Archibald took another step closer. His imposing figure cast a long shadow over her. The sheer predatory aura of the man overwhelmed her. It brought back the suffocating panic of that night years ago during the blackout-the feeling of being trapped in the dark with a stranger, utterly powerless. She didn't know he was the man from the dark room, but his aggression was a massive trigger.

She gasped, stumbling back, clutching her chest. "Get away from me."

Archibald paused, frowning. He saw the genuine panic in her face. The way her pupils blew wide, the way sweat beaded on her upper lip. It wasn't the fear of a caught liar. It was the terror of a cornered animal.

Why are you so afraid of me? he asked, genuinely confused. "You're the one who ran. You're the one who had children in secret while we were still married"

Because I know what you are! Annelise screamed, tears finally spilling over. "You're a tyrant! You don't care about me, and you certainly don't care who their real father is! You just want to control everything. You found out I have gifted children, and now you want to steal them, to turn them into soulless machines for your empire!"

The words hung in the air, heavy and desperate.

Archibald stared at her, his mind racing. She wasn't lying about her fear. But her logic baffled him.