23

Almost three hours had passed.

The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the pavement, but no one noticed. Not the swarms of LAPD officers combing through the amusement park, not the civilians who'd been asked politely, but firmly, to exit the premises.

And certainly not Morgan, whose shoes were scuffed from running nonstop and whose hair clung to her face with sweat and grief.

Still no sign of Ava and Elliot.

"Anything?" Karadec asked breathlessly into his phone as he slowed to a jog beside Oz.

Oz shook his head. "Nothing. Security's gone through every second of footage from the last ninety minutes. Still trying to get a full facial recognition match of anyone suspicious near that bench."

Karadec cursed under his breath and turned back to Morgan.

She was still searching. Still calling. Still scanning every corner with wild, hopeful eyes. Refusing to stop. Refusing to rest.

Until Ludo arrived. He came in fast, his car barely parked before he sprinted toward them, chest heaving.

"Morgan!" he shouted. "What happened?!"

She turned, broken and trembling, and he immediately ran to her as her composure cracked.

"I—I just stepped away. Just for five minutes," she whispered against his shoulder. "And they were gone. Ludo, they were gone."

Morgan suddenly stiffened, panic rising in her throat. "Wait—where is Chloe? You didn't bring her, did you? She—she can't be alone—what if they—what if someone—"

"I left her with Henry," Ludo said immediately. "He's watching her. I swear, Morgan, she's safe."

Her breathing hitched. "No one's safe."

Karadec stepped closer, placing a steadying hand on Ludo's shoulders. "Ludo, please do everything in your power to make sure Chloe's okay and safe while we handle this. We're going to find Ava and Elliot. We're covering all exits, tracking everything. The Bureau's involved now."

And they were. The FBI had taken over the field office end of things, coordinating updates with Soto every few minutes. On a massive set of monitors, Ronnie's team traced digital trails, cross-referencing phone pings, park surveillance, and traffic cams.

But even they were growing grim.

"We have yet to find any leads," Ronnie said over the phone, his tone clipped and dry. "If Ava and Elliot have never done this, never disappeared without contact, then we're not looking at lost kids anymore. We're looking at a kidnapping."

The words hit Morgan like a blade.

Her knees gave out. She fell seated on the van trunk, her hands clawing as if grounding herself could stop what was happening. Her eyes stared blankly, not even crying now. Just shaking with everything inside her tearing at once.

"Why my kids?" she rasped. "What did they do? What did I do?"

"Morgan—" Daphne tried to soothe her.

She didn't seem to hear. "They're good kids. They don't deserve this. I'm the one—I'm the one who gets into things. I poke too hard, I ask too many questions, I'm the one who doesn't let go and now—now—"

Karadec dropped to his knees in front of her and grabbed both her hands, firm but gentle. He locked eyes with her and didn't blink.

"Hey, look at me," he said quietly. "Morgan. I'm right here. We are going to find them."

"I can't take it if something happens to them, Karadec." Her eyes brimmed but didn't spill. "I couldn't even bear the thought of the day ending without seeing my children."

He tightened his grip. "Nothing's going to happen. We're gonna find them, I promise you. I will never let anything happen to Ava and Elliot. Not on my watch."

Her breath hitched again, but something in his steadiness rooted her.

Soto approached behind them, calm but direct. "We're gearing up for the next wave of the search. But Morgan, you should stay here. You need to rest."

"No," she whispered, trying to stand.

"You'll help more by staying grounded. Just sit. Stay here. Please." Karadec gently pushed her back down.

She looked between him and Soto, then finally nodded.

Morgan sat on the edge of an open van trunk, her legs dangling, her hands braced against the rim to stop their shaking.

Daphne hovered nearby, coordinating on her comms, while Ludo paced in tight circles. The air was dense with dread.

Morgan stared blankly ahead, then bowed her head into her hands. She tried to breathe deep, long pulls of air, but it didn't seem to work. The fear was lodged deep in her chest like a stone.

Until her phone buzzed.

Her heart leapt. She checked it instantly, praying it was Ava, or Elliot.

But the text was from an unknown number:

This case is not yours to solve. Walk away, or the next dead bodies are your kids.

She froze.

Every muscle in her body locked as the weight of what she was reading sank in. She could barely comprehend it, much less breathe.

Her fingers trembled as she clutched the phone tighter against her chest, barely able to think.

Then she slowly looked around, paranoia creeping in like fog. Every person in uniform suddenly felt like a threat. Every surveillance camera overhead, a warning.

What if they were here? Among the officers? Among the FBI agents? Watching her, testing her?

Her instincts screamed to show it to Karadec, to Selena, to forward it to Ronnie, to hand it off to anyone more equipped to deal with threats like this. But—

What if that's exactly what they want?

She imagined her phone being shown to the team. The news spreading. Someone making a move too fast, too loud. And her children—

No.

She couldn't risk it. Not until she knew for sure that the people around her weren't the very ones she should be protecting Ava and Elliot from.

She slowly locked her screen and slipped the phone back into her coat pocket, careful not to tremble.

Behind her, Daphne was mid-conversation on the comms, her voice tight with stress but precise.

Ludo was pacing, muttering, checking his own phone for the hundredth time, maybe even praying.

Then Ronnie's voice cracked through the comms.

"We've got something."

Daphne froze. "Agent Oliver, repeat?"

"We traced Ava and Elliot," he said, sharper now. "A black SUV with covered plates picked them up near the north end of the park just after Morgan lost sight. Traffic cams caught it exiting a service gate. We matched it to a location twenty minutes out."

Selena's voice cut in to the comms, calm but urgent. "Karadec, Oz, get back here now. Ronnie has a fix. Coordinates incoming."

Karadec didn't even hesitate. He fastened his move as soon as he heard Selena's command. Oz was two steps behind.

Soto turned, snapping to action. "Everyone, gear up. We roll in five."

In the middle of the sudden whirlwind of movement, Morgan remained still, struck breathless by a fragile sliver of relief.

They knew where to go.

And yet... her hand hovered near her coat pocket. The text still burned into her memory. The threat of it clawed at her, trying to override the flicker of hope.

But she said nothing.

She couldn't risk tipping the scales. If the person behind the message really was watching... if they knew she spoke up...

She forced herself to breathe. One shaky inhale, then another. Karadec passed her, pausing only long enough to look her in the eye.

"We're going to get them. I need you to hold steady, okay?"

Morgan gave a small, barely-there nod.

He lingered half a second longer, clearly picking up something in her expression. His brow furrowed. "Morgan..."

"I'm okay," she whispered. A lie. But one she had to say.

He stared at her, unconvinced. But Ronnie called again over the comms, and Karadec was forced to move.

The van doors slammed shut. Sirens flared. Cars roared to life. The convoy began to roll out, tense and humming with urgency.

Morgan stayed seated on the van's edge, watching them disappear, heart split between dread and faith.

She finally stood, hands clenched into fists, and walked toward Soto.

"I'm coming with you."

Soto didn't argue. He saw the fire behind the exhaustion in her eyes, the mother willing to burn down the world.

"Let's go."