Emma's POV
"That woman isn't Kara." I can barely breathe. "You're lying. This is another one of your games."
Marcus smiles wider. That smile that used to make me feel special. Now it just makes me sick.
"I'm not lying, Emma. I'm showing you the truth." He keeps his grip on the fake Kara's arm. The blonde woman doesn't struggle. Doesn't protest. Just stands there like she's waiting for instructions. "Sarah here is very good at her job. She studied your friend. Learned her mannerisms. Wore the right wig and clothes. Even got a temporary scar applied to match Kara's."
"No." My voice sounds small. Broken. "The texts. The photo of us at the lake. The story about the fence"
"All information I gave Sarah. All stories you told me during our marriage, Emma. You shared everything with me, remember? Every childhood memory. Every secret. Every detail about your precious friendship." Marcus's voice drips with false sweetness. "I've been planning this for three years. Ever since you ran away with my daughter."
The federal agents still hold Daniel. One of them speaks into a radio. Calling for backup. More police will be here soon.
But will they be on Marcus's side or ours?
"Let them go," Daniel demands. His voice is hard. "Whatever this is about, you're committing assault in front of a police officer. You're done."
"Am I?" Marcus pulls out his phone with his free hand and shows the screen to Daniel. "I have a court order signed this morning. Emergency custody change due to Emma's mental instability. These federal agents are here to ensure my daughter is returned to me safely."
"That's not possible," I say. "You have no rights. The judge"
"The judge saw evidence of your deteriorating mental state. The paranoid delusions. The belief that dead people are contacting you. The decision to flee across state lines with a minor child." Marcus looks at Lily with hungry eyes. "My poor daughter, living with a mother who can't tell reality from fantasy."
Everything clicks into place. The postcards. The texts. The woman pretending to be Kara. All of it designed to make me look unstable. To make me seem unfit.
To give Marcus ammunition to take Lily away.
"You set me up." My voice shakes with rage. "This entire thing was a trap."
"This entire thing was a rescue mission." Marcus corrects me. "I'm saving my daughter from a mentally ill mother who endangered her by bringing her here based on messages from a dead woman."
"She didn't endanger anyone," Daniel says. "She came to the police for help. That's the rational thing to do when you're receiving threats."
"Threats from someone who doesn't exist." Marcus shakes his head sadly. "It's tragic, really. Emma was always fragile. I tried to help her during our marriage. Therapy. Medication. Support. But she refused treatment. And now look where it's led."
Every word is a lie wrapped in truth. Yes, Marcus was my therapist. Yes, he prescribed medication. But it was all to control me. To make me dependent. To convince everyone around us that I was the problem.
"I'm not crazy," I say. But even I can hear how desperate I sound. How unstable.
"Of course you don't think so. That's part of the illness." Marcus sighs. "Sarah, apologize to Emma for playing along with her delusions. We thought it might help her if we gently showed her the truth. But it seems to have made things worse."
The fake KaraSarahlooks at me with pity. "I'm sorry, Emma. Dr. Cole hired me to help you see that your friend is gone. He thought if you could work through your grief, you'd get better. I didn't mean to make things worse."
She sounds so sincere. So concerned. If I didn't know better, I'd almost believe her.
But I do know better. Because I've lived with Marcus. I know how he operates. How he builds narratives that make him the hero and everyone else the villain.
"Show them the postcard," Daniel says to me. "Show them proof you're not imagining this."
I reach into my pocket. Pull out the postcard. Hand it to Daniel.
He looks at it. His expression darkens. "This is real. Physical evidence of contact."
"Which Emma could have written herself," Marcus says smoothly. "It's called pseudographia. Writing messages to yourself while in a dissociative state, then forgetting you wrote them. Very common in trauma survivors."
That's not a real thing. At least, I don't think it is. But Marcus says it with such confidence that even I start to doubt.
"The handwriting" I begin.
"looks like your friend's because you've been practicing it for weeks." Marcus's voice is gentle. Patient. The therapist voice. "Emma, I know this is hard to hear. But you need help. Real help. Not running away. Not chasing ghosts. Professional psychiatric treatment."
One of the federal agents steps forward. "Mrs. Cole, we need to take your daughter into protective custody until the custody hearing tomorrow. It's for her safety."
"No!" I pull Lily behind me. "You're not taking her!"
"Emma, don't make this harder." Marcus takes a step forward. The fake Kara Sarah finally pulls free from his grip and moves to the side. "Think about what's best for Lily. She's scared. She doesn't understand what's happening. Let her come with me. Let her have some stability while we figure this out."
"She stays with her mother," Daniel says firmly. "Unless you have a warrant for arrest, Emma and her daughter aren't going anywhere."
The lead federal agent pulls out papers. "We have the court order. That's sufficient."
Daniel reads it quickly. His jaw tightens. "This is from a judge in another county. It's not valid here without local approval."
"Actually, it's a federal family court order. Valid everywhere." The agent's voice is sympathetic but firm. "Sir, we don't want trouble. We're just following procedure."
I'm losing. The trap is closing. Marcus thought of everything.
"Daniel" My voice breaks. "Please. Don't let him take her."
Daniel meets my eyes. For a long moment, we just stare at each other. Seven years of silence. Seven years of questions. Seven years of what might have been hanging between us.
Then Daniel does something unexpected.
He steps between me and the federal agents. Puts himself physically in front of Lily and me.
"The child stays with her mother," he says quietly. "And if you want to change that, you're going to need to go through me."
The agents look at each other. This isn't what they expected.
Marcus's smile finally fades. "Detective, you're making a mistake. Don't risk your career for a woman who abandoned you seven years ago."
"My career. My choice." Daniel doesn't move. Doesn't back down. "Emma came here asking for help. That's what I'm giving her."
Something warm blooms in my chest. Hope. After so long without it.
But Marcus isn't done. He never is.
"Fine. We'll do this the official way." He pulls out his phone and makes a call. "Yes, I need to report a kidnapping in progress. A police officer is preventing federal agents from executing a custody order. Millbrook Police Station. Send everyone."
He hangs up and looks at Daniel. "In ten minutes, this building will be surrounded. State police. County sheriffs. Maybe even media when I call them. You'll be arrested. Fired. Possibly charged with obstruction. All for a woman who doesn't even love you anymore."
Daniel's shoulders tense. But he doesn't move away from us.
"She doesn't have to love me for me to do the right thing," he says.
The words hit me like a punch. He's willing to sacrifice everything. His job. His reputation. His future. For me and Lily.
After I hurt him. After I disappeared. After I chose Marcus over him.
Tears stream down my face. "Daniel, you don't have to"
"Yes, I do." He glances back at me. "Because you were right to be scared. Right to ask for help. And I'm not going to fail you again."
Again. Like he thinks he failed me before.
But he didn't. I failed him.
Before I can say anything, Daniel's phone rings. He answers it without taking his eyes off the federal agents. "Rivers."
He listens. His expression changes. Shock. Then something else. Something like vindication.
"Say that again?" He puts the phone on speaker.
A woman's voice fills the hallway. "This is Agent Patricia Monroe, actual FBI. We've been investigating Dr. Marcus Cole for fraud and corruption for six months. The men at your location are not federal agents. They're private security wearing false credentials. Arrest them immediately."
The bottom drops out of Marcus's confident expression.
The three men in suits suddenly look nervous. One reaches for something inside his jacket.
"Don't." Daniel draws his gun. Fast. Steady. Pointed at the man's chest. "Hands where I can see them. All of you."
The fake agents raise their hands slowly. Their fake federal IDs suddenly look very suspicious.
Marcus backs toward the exit. "This is a misunderstanding. Sarah, we're leaving. Now."
But Sarah doesn't follow him. Instead, she pulls off her blonde wig completely and faces Marcus. When she speaks, her voice is different. Harder. Real.
"I'm not Sarah Winters. I'm Officer Sarah Chen, Riverside PD. I've been undercover for three months building a case against you for stalking and harassment."
My brain can't process this. The woman who pretended to be Kara is actually an undercover cop?
"And I'm not really dead." Another voice comes from behind Marcus.
Everyone turns.
Standing in the alley entrance, holding up her phone recording everything, is a woman with dark hair and a red jacket.
No wig this time. No disguise.
Just Kara. My Kara. Alive and real and crying as she looks at me.
"Hi, Emma," she says through tears. "I'm sorry I made you wait so long."
The real Kara Brennan just came back from the dead.