Chapter 34: The Neighbor's Cat

The voice on the monitor was jagged, laced with a familiar cruelty.

"I said quiet."

A sharp *thwack* echoed through the speaker, followed by a wail that tore through my chest. My daughter. Someone was hurting my daughter.

"That's not you," I whispered, staring at Chloe. "You're right here."

Chloe's face had drained of color. For the first time, the mask of composed arrogance cracked, revealing genuine, unfiltered panic. She looked at the monitor, then at Mark, her eyes wide.

"Mark," she said, her voice trembling. "Who is in the guest room?"

Mark didn't answer. He was staring at the small black device on the counter as if it were a bomb.

"I asked you a question!" Chloe screamed, abandoning her grip on my arm to shove Mark. "Who is in there with *my* baby?"

"Our baby," I corrected, my voice steel. "And if you don't move, I will kill you."

The threat hung in the air, heavy and real. I didn't have a weapon, I was barefoot and bleeding, but the rage flooding my veins was more potent than any drug they could give me.

I pushed past them.

I ran for the stairs. My legs burned, the muscles screaming in protest, but I didn't feel it. All I could hear was that cry. That terrified, pained cry.

"Elara, wait!" Mark shouted, his footsteps heavy behind me.

I didn't wait. I reached the landing and sprinted down the hall.

The guest room door was closed.

I threw myself against it. Locked.

"Open it!" I screamed, pounding on the wood. "Open the door!"

From inside, the crying stopped. Abruptly. Like a switch had been flipped.

"Well, well," the voice crooned, closer now, right on the other side of the wood. "The gang's all here."

I froze. I knew that voice. It wasn't distorted by static anymore. It was clear.

It was the voice of a woman I had met once, years ago. At a charity gala Mark had dragged me to. A woman who had looked at me with cold, appraising eyes.

A woman Mark had introduced as his "old friend."

The lock clicked.

The door swung inward.

Standing in the center of the room, holding Lily in one arm and a lit cigarette in the other, was a woman with short, dark hair and a scar running through her left eyebrow.

She took a drag of the cigarette, blowing smoke toward the ceiling fan.

"Hello, Mark," she said, smiling. "Did you miss me?"

Mark skidded to a halt behind me. I heard his breath catch, a sound of pure horror.

"Nadia," he whispered.

Chloe appeared at the top of the stairs, winded and pale. When she saw the woman, she grabbed the doorframe for support.

"No," she breathed. "You're in prison. You're supposed to be in prison."

Nadia laughed. It was the same dry sound I had heard on the monitor.

"Parole is a beautiful thing, Elena," she said. She shifted Lily in her arms, the baby whimpering at the movement. "Especially when you have leverage."

She looked at me. Her eyes were dark, devoid of empathy.

"You must be the incubator," she said. "Thanks for keeping her warm for me."

I took a step forward. "Give me my daughter."

" calm down, honey," Nadia said, flicking ash onto the pristine carpet. "I'm just the delivery service. Elena here is the client."

She looked at Chloe.

"Although, looking at this mess..." She gestured to the open attic hatch, the dust on my face, the gun Mark had left in the basement. "It seems like the client is having a bit of trouble with the merchandise."

"What do you want, Nadia?" Mark asked, his voice shaking.

"What I've always wanted, Mark. My cut."

She walked to the window, looking out at the Mrs. Gable's house next door.

"Nice place," she said. "Very secluded. Perfect for a... transition."

She turned back to us.

"But we have a problem," she said. "The neighbor. She's watching."

I looked. Through the sheer curtains, I could see Mrs. Gable on her porch. She wasn't gardening anymore. She was holding a phone to her ear.

And she was looking right at us.

Nadia smiled.

"Looks like we're on a schedule."

She walked over to the desk and picked up something small and black. An SD card.

The one I had tied to the cat's collar.

"Cute cat," she said. "Friendly. Came right up to me on the patio."

She tossed the SD card to Mark. He caught it, fumbling.

"You really should secure your perimeter better," she said. "You never know what the cat might drag in."

She looked at me, her smile widening.

"Or drag out."