52-I CAME HOME EARLY AND FOUND MY TEN-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER EATING DINNER ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR BESIDE OUR DOG—THEN I DISCOVERED MY MOTHER HAD BEEN HIDING SOMETHING FAR WORSE.

Gabriel sprinted up the stairs three at a time, the brass flashlight beam cutting through the dark like a blade. "Amelia!"

He kicked open her bedroom door. The window facing the backyard garden was wide open, the rain-soaked lace curtains thrashing wildly in the wind. Rain was pouring over the sill, soaking the carpet. Amelia was backed into the farthest corner of her bed, curled into a tight ball, her hands clamped over her ears, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

"He was there, Daddy!" she cried, her voice cracking with terror. "At the window! He tapped on the glass!"

Gabriel rushed to the window, shining the light down onto the muddy lawn below. In the beam of the flashlight, two deep, fresh boot prints were sunk into the flowerbed directly beneath Amelia’s second-story trellis. A single red rose lay snapped on the mud, positioned deliberately across the footprint.

"Nobody is getting in here, baby. I promise you," Gabriel said, slamming the window shut and throwing the heavy brass latch. He pulled the thick drapes shut, scooped Amelia into his arms, and held her tightly against his chest. Her small frame was shivering violently.

"He said something," Amelia whispered into Gabriel's neck, her breath shuddering. "He whispered through the crack before you opened the front door."

Gabriel went rigid. "What did he say, Amelia? Tell me exact words."

"He said... *'Tell your grandmother the debt is due, or the little girl pays the interest.'*"

A wave of nausea and adrenaline hit Gabriel simultaneously. The courier wasn't just a messenger; he was a scout. Or worse, an enforcer. Marlene was currently sitting in a holding cell at the county jail after being arrested for child abuse, embezzlement, and forgery. How could someone be threatening Amelia on her behalf? Or was someone coming after Marlene through Amelia?

Biscuit barked sharply from the foot of the stairs. Gabriel carried Amelia down, wrapping her in a heavy wool blanket. He grabbed his keys, Nora’s envelope, and the brass key stamped *714*. He couldn't leave Amelia here. If someone was stalking the property, the house was no longer a sanctuary.

"We're going on a little trip, sweetie," Gabriel said, his voice calm despite the storm raging inside his chest. "Just you, me, and Biscuit. We're going to take a drive."

"Are we running away from Grandma?" Amelia asked quietly, her wide brown eyes searching his face.

"No," Gabriel said, buckling her into the back seat of his SUV and letting Biscuit jump in beside her. "We're going to finish what your mother started."

As Gabriel pulled out of the driveway, the headlights swept across the neighboring woods. For a split second, reflected in the bright high beams, a silhouette stood motionless behind an oak tree twenty yards away—a man holding a phone to his ear, watching them leave.