Mark hadn’t just institutionalized her to take her assets—he was working with Ethan. They were squeezing both her and Lena. And Emma… might be next.

The taxi slowed as they entered Lena’s neighborhood.

Outside the house sat a gray SUV.

Mark’s.

Not a coincidence.

Carol stepped out before the car fully stopped.

The front door was locked, but a curtain shifted.

She circled to the side. The kitchen window was slightly open. Voices inside.

Melissa. Mark. And Ethan’s mother.

“The girl stays here until Lena signs,” Melissa said.

“No,” Mark replied. “Too risky. We move her somewhere else.”

“And if Lena reports it?” the older woman asked.

Mark laughed.

“With what proof? It’s already been called an accident. And if Carol interferes, we’ll use her nursing home file again.”

Carol’s blood pounded.

Enough.

Then she heard a faint noise. From a closet.

Emma.

Carol didn’t hesitate.

She forced the window open, reached in, unlocked it, and climbed inside with the speed of someone who had done harder things in life.

Melissa saw her first.

“The old woman!”

Carol ignored her.

Mark stood up, stunned.

“What the hell—?”

“Don’t move,” Carol said.

Her voice stopped him cold.

That second was enough.

She crossed the room, opened the closet, and found Emma curled inside. The girl jumped into her arms.

“Grandma…”

“I’m here.”

Melissa lunged.

“You’re not taking her!”

Carol turned and shoved her back. The woman crashed into a chair.

Mark stepped forward.

“You’re making a mistake. Put the girl down.”

Carol looked at him—really looked.

“You stole from your father while he was dying. Locked me away. Took everything. And now you’re after Lena’s daughter.”

Mark faltered.

“What?”

“You never wanted to help. You wanted everything early.”

Melissa laughed from the floor.

“And who’s going to believe you? The crazy old woman?”

Mark regained composure.

“You have nothing.”

Carol pulled out the phone.

Pressed play.

His voice filled the room.

“If there’s a scene, the kid becomes a problem…”

Then another recording.

“If Carol interferes, we use her file again…”

Mark went pale.

Melissa said nothing.

Then—sirens.

Multiple.

Police cars screeched outside. Child protection. Officers.

Mark turned toward the window.

“What did you do?”

Carol held Emma tighter.

“What you never thought I could do—prepare.”

Before leaving the hospital, she had sent the recordings to police, to a lawyer who once worked with her late husband, and to the nursing home. They reviewed her file.