I'd been awake since five, reviewing the evidence I'd compiled over the past weeks. The timeline of coordinated attacks. The financial connections between Bianca Ashford and the anonymous accusations. Everything was organized, documented, ready to present.
This presentation could stabilize everything—Xander's authority, my own legitimacy, our family's safety. One clean strike to expose the conspiracy and end it.
"Mommy, you look worried," Nina appeared in the kitchen doorway, still in her unicorn pajamas, her dark hair tangled from sleep.
"I'm just thinking, baby. Mommy has an important meeting today."
"Will you win?"
I smiled despite the tension knotting my shoulders. "I'm going to try very hard."
Lisa padded in behind her sister, quieter as always, her eyes searching my face with that unsettling perceptiveness she'd inherited from her father. "Are you scared?"
The question caught me off guard. "A little, but that's okay. Being scared means something matters to you."
"Like when I had to read in front of the whole class?"
"Exactly like that."
I pulled both girls into my arms, holding them longer than usual. Something in my chest felt heavy, reluctant to let go. I pressed kisses to the tops of their heads, breathing in the familiar scent of their shampoo, memorizing the weight of them against me.
"I love you both so much," I whispered. "More than anything in the whole world."
"We know, Mommy." Nina squirmed in my embrace. "You're squishing me."
"Sorry, baby," I released them, smoothing Lisa's hair one more time. "Be good for Sarah today, okay? Daddy and I will be home as soon as we can."
The nanny arrived at eight, cheerful and competent as always. I gave her the usual instructions—lunch preferences, nap schedules, the importance of the butterfly code word. She nodded along, familiar with our routines.
"We're going to the park this morning," Sarah said brightly. "The girls have been begging to feed the ducks."
"That sounds perfect. Just stay close to them, please. You know how Nina likes to wander."
"Of course, Mrs. Hale. Don't worry about anything."
I kissed the twins one more time at the door, that strange heaviness still pressing against my ribs. Lisa clung to my hand for an extra moment, her dark eyes holding mine.
"Come home soon, Mommy."
"I will, baby, I promise." I dropped these words faster than I intended, while leaving the house.
The drive to the office felt longer than usual. Xander was already there, preparing for the board session that would determine whether he regained his authority or lost everything. My role was support—presenting the evidence, answering questions, demonstrating that the attacks on his leadership were coordinated sabotage rather than legitimate concerns.
I was reviewing my notes in the conference room when my phone vibrated. Then again. Then continuously, the insistent buzz cutting through my concentration.
Sarah's name flashed on the screen.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Hale, I'm so sorry, I don't know how it happened, she was right there, I only looked away for a second—"
The words tumbled over each other in a cascade of panic, barely coherent. My heart began to pound before my brain fully processed what she was saying.
"Sarah, slow down. What happened?"
"Lisa… She's gone," the nanny's voice cracked, hysteria bleeding through. "We were at the park, feeding the ducks like we planned. Nina was right next to me, and Lisa was just a few feet away, and then I turned around and she wasn't there anymore. I've been looking everywhere, calling her name, but I can't find her. Mrs. Hale, I can't find her."
My body reacted before my mind caught up. Adrenaline flooded my system in a cold wave, my breath turning shallow, my hands starting to shake. The conference room tilted slightly, the edges of my vision going dark.
"Where are you now?"
"Still at the park, the one on Maple Street. I called security, they're searching, but she just vanished. I don't understand how she could have disappeared so quickly."
"Stay there and don't move. I'm coming."
I hung up without waiting for a response. My legs were moving before I consciously decided to stand, carrying me toward the door, away from the presentation that was supposed to save everything.
"Daphne?" Xander's voice came from somewhere behind me. "Where are you going? The meeting starts in twenty minutes."
"Lisa's missing," the words came out flat, disconnected from the terror screaming inside my chest. "She disappeared from the park."
His face went white. "What do you mean, disappeared?"
"I have to go. I have to find her."
"I'm coming with you."
"No," I grabbed my coat, my keys, my hands shaking so badly I could barely grip them. "The board meeting, you can't abandon—"
"To hell with the board meeting. That's our daughter."
"They'll use it against you. Everything we've been fighting for—"
"Means nothing if Lisa isn't safe," he was already moving, matching my pace toward the elevator. "We'll find her together."
The drive to the park passed in a blur of red lights and desperate prayers. My phone rang twice—board members wondering where we were, assistants asking for instructions—but I ignored everything except the road ahead.
Fear mutated as we drove, transforming from blind panic into something colder, more calculating. This wasn't an accident. Children didn't simply vanish from parks in broad daylight with attentive nannies watching them. Someone had taken her. Someone had crossed from threats and manipulation into direct action.
Eleanor's satisfied smile flashed through my mind. The woman at the school who'd tried to pick up the twins with forged documents. Bianca's promise to ruin everything I held close.
One of them had done this. One of them had taken my daughter.
By the time we reached the park, the world felt unreal. Every sound registered too loud—car doors slamming, voices calling, the distant quack of ducks on the pond. Every second stretched too long, time moving like honey while my heart raced at triple speed.
Sarah stood near the playground, her face streaked with tears, Nina clutched against her leg. Park security officers fanned out across the grounds, walkie-talkies crackling with updates that meant nothing.
"I'm so sorry," Sarah sobbed when she saw us. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened, I only looked away for a second—"
"Which direction?" I cut through her apologies. "Where was she when you last saw her?"
"By the duck pond. She wanted to get closer to the water. I told her to stay on the path, and then Nina needed help with her bread, and when I looked back—"
"Show me."
I followed her to the spot, my eyes scanning every tree, every bench, every possible hiding place. The pond glittered in the morning light, peaceful and oblivious to the catastrophe unfolding on its banks.
"Lisa!" I called, my voice cracking. "Lisa, can you hear me?"
Nothing. Just the wind in the leaves and the distant hum of traffic.
Xander was on his phone, voice sharp with command, calling in resources I didn't know he had access to. Private security, police contacts, anyone who could help search.
Nina tugged at my hand, her small face pale with confusion. "Mommy, why did Lisa go away?"
"I don't know, baby, but we're going to find her."
"Is she playing hide and seek?"
"Maybe," I forced the word out past the lump in my throat. "We just have to look very hard."
I scanned the park again, my eyes burning, my chest tight with fear that threatened to consume me whole. Somewhere out there, my daughter was alone and scared.
The thoughts circling my mind narrowed to a single, consuming focus: bring my daughter home. Whatever it took, whoever I had to destroy. Nothing else mattered until Lisa was safe in my arms again.