His Cane Corso Barked at an Empty Guest Room Every Night—Until the Maid Opened the Vent Nero barked three times. Pause.

The silence in the library was absolute, broken only by the heavy breathing of Nero, who had wedged his massive body against the locked oak doors.

Gabriel’s eyes remained fixed on the note. Oak Park.

"My mother lives in Oak Park," Olivia said, her voice trembling but refusing to break. "My daughter was born there. Mr. Duca, if this is a threat against my family—"

"This is not about you, Olivia," Gabriel interrupted, his tone sharp but devoid of cruelty. He touched the silver rim of the empty pocket watch. "This belonged to my father. He died in Oak Park fifteen years ago. A heart attack. Or so the coroner said."

Matteo aggressively rattled the door handle. Locked. The electronic keypad was dead. "Someone severed the power line to the library's local network. We are physically barricaded in." He drew his sidearm, scanning the high bookshelves. "They want us contained while they move."

"Or while they retrieve the receiver," Gabriel said.

Olivia’s mind raced. The receiver had to be within a few hundred yards. The landscapers. The blue thread.

"Wait," Olivia said, closing her eyes, visualizing the intricate map of the estate she cleaned every day. "The central laundry chute. It connects the upper guest wing directly to the basement staff quarters. You don't need a keycard to open the chute. A person couldn't fit, but you could drop a battery down. Or a listening device."

Matteo stopped. "The staff quarters. That's where the internal receiver is."

"And that's where Lily is sleeping," Olivia gasped. Panic, cold and sharp, flooded her veins. "I left her in my room. Door locked. But if someone is down there..."

Gabriel didn't hesitate. He grabbed a heavy bronze bookend from his desk and moved toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. "Stand back."

He shattered the glass. The security alarms began shrieking, a deafening wail that tore through the quiet night.

"Matteo, get the doors open. Olivia, with me."

Gabriel stepped through the broken window onto the stone terrace, the autumn wind instantly biting through his thin shirt. Olivia scrambled after him, ignoring the shards of glass that snagged her robe.

They ran along the terrace, Nero bounding ahead, until they reached the exterior service entrance. Gabriel punched in his master code. Green light. They hurried down the concrete stairwell into the basement level.

The staff corridor was dimly lit.

"Lily!" Olivia screamed, sprinting toward Room 12.

She fumbled with her keys, her hands shaking so violently she dropped them. Gabriel picked them up, swiftly unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

The small bed was empty. The blankets were thrown back.

"Lily!" Olivia fell to her knees, looking under the bed. Nothing.

"Olivia," Gabriel said softly.

She turned. Gabriel was pointing to her open staff locker.

Sitting on the top shelf, nestled right beside Olivia’s spare uniform, was a black, rectangular electronic box with a blinking green light. The receiver.

And next to it lay a stack of hundred-dollar bills, banded in bank paper.

Matteo burst into the room, his gun raised. He saw the empty bed. He saw the receiver. He saw the cash.

Matteo's gun slowly lowered, but it didn't point at the floor. It pointed directly at Olivia’s chest.

"Step away from the locker, Mrs. Carter," Matteo ordered, his voice devoid of all warmth.

"What? No!" Olivia cried. "You think I did this? My daughter is missing!"

"A perfect cover," Matteo said. "You found the bug to gain our trust. You staged the break-in. Where is the girl, Olivia? Did you hand her off to your accomplices?"

"Matteo, put the gun down," Gabriel commanded.

"Mr. Duca, the evidence is right here."

"I said put it down," Gabriel roared, stepping directly between the barrel of the gun and Olivia.

Before Matteo could argue, a small, sleepy voice drifted from the doorway.

"Mommy?"

Olivia spun around. Lily stood in the hallway, clutching a worn stuffed rabbit, rubbing her eyes. She was perfectly safe.

Olivia shoved past Gabriel and collapsed, pulling her daughter into a fierce embrace, sobbing into the girl's hair.

"Where were you?" Olivia choked out. "Why did you leave the room?"

"I couldn't sleep because of the loud noises," Lily murmured, burying her face in her mother's shoulder. "I went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. But a man was there."

Gabriel dropped to one knee, putting himself at eye level with the seven-year-old. His imposing frame softened remarkably. "Lily? I'm Gabriel. Did you see the man's face?"

Lily shook her head. "It was dark. But he dropped this."

Lily held out her small hand.

Resting in her palm was a heavy, gold cufflinks. Cast in the shape of a lion.

Gabriel’s face went completely pale.