Isabella didn't scream.
She couldn't.
Her throat closed around the sound, trapping it inside her chest where it burned like acid.
Her phone trembled violently in her hand.
The photo filled the screen.
Juan.
Sitting at his small classroom desk.
Crayons scattered in front of him.
Laughing.
Alive.
Unaware.
Her knees gave out.
Nolan caught her before she hit the floor.
"What?" he demanded, panic slamming into his voice.
She handed him the phone.
He took one look—
And his face drained of all color.
"They were there," she whispered. "Today."
Nathan swore under his breath.
"This is no longer a warning," Nolan said. "This is a declaration."
Isabella clutched his shirt, fingers digging into him. "They're going to take him."
Nolan cupped her face, forcing her to look at him.
"No," he said. "They won't."
Her eyes were wild. "They already know where he is."
"Yes," he said. "Which means we move faster."
Nathan was already on the phone.
"Pull Juan out of school immediately," he snapped. "Full lockdown. No exceptions."
Isabella's heart slammed. "I need to go get him."
"No," Nolan said sharply. "They're watching."
"I don't care," she cried. "That's my son!"
"And they know that," Nolan replied. "Which is why they want you to run."
She froze.
"They want chaos," he continued. "They want mistakes."
Her breath came in short bursts.
Nathan ended the call. "School's locked down. He's safe—for now."
"For now," Isabella whispered.
Nolan pressed his forehead to hers. "We're not losing him."
They moved that night.
Not in cars.
Not with sirens.
Quietly.
In unmarked vans.
No lights.
No trace.
A safe house on the outskirts of the city.
Concrete.
Steel.
Hidden.
Isabella held Juan tightly in the backseat, rocking him as he slept.
She couldn't stop touching him.
Couldn't stop checking if he was breathing.
Nolan sat across from her, eyes never leaving them.
Every instinct in him was screaming.
War instincts.
Survival instincts.
Killing instincts.
Nathan drove.
Silent.
Focused.
"Who are they?" Isabella whispered.
Nolan didn't hesitate. "My father's ghosts."
Her chest tightened. "Explain."
"They were his loyalists," Nolan said. "Men who believed power was inherited, not earned."
"And now?" she asked.
"And now they want it back," he replied.
She swallowed. "By hurting children?"
Nolan's jaw tightened. "By breaking me."
She closed her eyes.
"Then they don't know you," she whispered.
He looked at her. "No. They don't."
Juan woke up as they pulled into the safe house.
"Mommy?" he murmured sleepily.
She smiled weakly. "I'm here, baby."
"Why is it dark?" he asked.
She hesitated. "We're on a little adventure."
His eyes lit up faintly. "Like pirates?"
She laughed softly. "Yes."
Nolan knelt in front of him. "You trust me?"
Juan nodded.
"I'm going to keep you safe," Nolan said.
Juan smiled. "I know."
The words nearly broke him.
Inside, the safe house was bare.
Functional.
Cold.
Isabella hated it instantly.
They set Juan up in a small bedroom.
She refused to leave his side.
Nolan stood in the doorway, watching.
"He needs to sleep," he said softly.
"So do you," she replied.
He shook his head. "I'll sleep when they're dead."
Her eyes filled. "Don't talk like that."
"It's the truth," he said.
She walked to him, gripping his arms. "If you die, they win."
His voice softened. "If I hesitate, they win."
She pressed her forehead to his chest. "I'm scared."
"I know," he whispered.
"I don't want to live like this," she said. "Looking over my shoulder. Waiting for the next threat."
Nolan cupped her face. "I will end this."
She searched his eyes. "How?"
"By becoming worse than they are," he said.
Her heart clenched.
Nathan returned with grim news.
"They accessed the school records," he said. "Not hacked. Authorized."
Isabella stiffened. "What does that mean?"
"It means someone inside gave it to them," Nathan replied.
Nolan's jaw clenched.
"A teacher?" Isabella whispered.
Nathan shook his head. "No. Administration."
Her chest tightened. "So they can reach anywhere."
"Yes," Nathan said.
Isabella sank into a chair.
"There is no safe place," she whispered.
Nolan crouched in front of her.
"There is," he said. "With me."
She looked at him.
"You trust me?" he asked.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I shouldn't," she whispered.
"But you do," he said.
She nodded.
That night, Isabella couldn't sleep.
She sat beside Juan's bed, watching him breathe.
Every sound made her flinch.
Footsteps.
Wind.
A door creaking.
She jumped.
Nolan appeared.
"You okay?" he whispered.
She shook her head.
"They're inside my head," she said. "I can't stop seeing him alone. Scared."
Nolan sat beside her.
"They won't touch him," he said.
"How can you be sure?" she whispered.
"Because if they do," he said quietly, "I will burn their world down."
She leaned into him, exhausted.
"They said I'd have to choose again," she murmured.
Nolan stiffened. "Choose what?"
She swallowed. "Which life matters more."
His blood went cold.
"They want me to choose between you and Juan," she whispered.
Nolan's breath left him.
He said nothing.
He couldn't.
She lifted her head. "If they make me—"
"Don't," he said.
Her eyes were wet. "I won't let them make me."
He held her tightly.
"They won't," he said.
But he knew—
That was exactly what they would try.
The next morning, Nolan received a message.
Unknown number.
You moved him.
Smart.
But you forgot one thing.
Attached was a live video.
A classroom.
Empty.
Desks overturned.
Crying in the background.
A teacher sobbing.
A voice spoke off-camera.
"Children get hurt when adults hide."
Nolan's hands shook.
Isabella saw his face.
"What?" she demanded.
He showed her.
Her scream ripped through the safe house.
"They were at his school," she sobbed.
"Yes," Nolan said.
"They could've taken him," she cried.
"But they didn't," Nathan said grimly.
"Why?" she asked.
Nolan answered.
"Because they want you to choose."
That afternoon, a package arrived.
No return address.
No postage.
Just… there.
Nolan opened it.
Inside—
A small blue sneaker.
Juan's.
Isabella collapsed.
Attached was a note.
One day, you won't be fast enough.
Nolan stood.
His face was no longer human.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Only decision.
"They want war," he said.
Nathan nodded. "Then we give it to them."
Isabella shook violently. "No. No more violence."
Nolan knelt in front of her.
"I will not let them turn you into prey," he said.
Her voice broke. "And what if they turn you into a monster?"
He looked at her.
"I already am," he said.
"But I'm your monster."
Her heart shattered.
That night, as Isabella finally slept, her phone vibrated.
A video message.
She opened it.
A masked man appeared.
Marcus.
"You did well," he said. "You moved the boy."
Her breath caught.
"But now," he continued, "I will take something else."
The video cut to black.
Then another clip played.
A woman.
Bound.
Bruised.
Crying.
Isabella gasped.
"Mommy?" Juan whispered from the doorway.
Her blood ran cold.