She pushed the stroller down the stairs… but forgot the camera was watching.

They drove us deep into the wilderness.

Hours passed in darkness. Ethan cried intermittently from the front car, thin and heartbreaking. Elara strained against her bonds, weeping his name. Jared remained silent beside me, barely conscious, bleeding steadily.

The convoy finally stopped near an isolated stretch of river. No houses. No witnesses. Only rushing black water and moonless sky.

Vivian stepped into the moonlight, holding Ethan against her chest. The lawyer dragged us out and forced us to kneel on the rocky bank.

“It ends here,” Vivian said. She looked tired now. Calm. The hysteria had burned away, leaving only cold resolve. “The fire destroyed the cabin. The phone burned with it. No trail. No witnesses. And the boy… he will be raised as my own. He is all I need.”

“You cannot hide the truth forever,” I said. “Jared recorded you.”

Vivian laughed. “He died in the fire. Along with his phone. Don’t waste your breath with lies, Adrian.”

“It is not a lie,” Jared said, struggling upright. “I hid it before they caught me. Buried beneath a stone. And before we left… I sent the file to the police. They are waiting for your location. They are listening to every word you say right now.”

Vivian froze. The lawyer cursed and reached for his phone. No signal in this ravine.

“Bluff,” the lawyer snapped.

“Is it?” Jared asked. “Because the sirens are already getting closer. Listen.”

Silence stretched. Then—faint but unmistakable—the wail of sirens rising up the valley.

Vivian’s composure shattered. She looked wildly toward the road. Then down at Ethan. Then at us.

The lawyer grabbed her arm. “Run! Now!”

“No!” Vivian wrenched free. She stepped backward toward the water, clutching Ethan tight. “If I cannot have him… neither can any of you!”

She leaned dangerously far over the rushing current. Elara screamed.

“Vivian!” I shouted. “Think! He is innocent! He is family!”