Gideon was moving before anyone finished speaking.

Owen was not in the nursery.

That was the only reason Mallerie could breathe.

He was downstairs with Adrian's wife while they investigated the motel lead.

The camera feed was old.

Not live.

Its timestamp showed footage from three nights earlier.

The woman with the black ring had already been inside Gideon's home.

“She got past my security,” Gideon said.

Adrian shook his head.

“Not necessarily.”

“What?”

“She may have had access.”

They audited everyone.

Employees.

Contractors.

Security.

Cleaning staff.

Then they found her.

A temporary housekeeper named Carol Hayes.

C.H.

Fake identification.

Fake employment history.

And security footage showed that “Carol” walked with the same posture as Cassandra.

Mallerie stared at the enlarged frame.

“She was near Owen?”

“Twice.”

Gideon looked furious.

“Why didn't she take him?”

Mallerie understood before anyone else.

“She was watching him.”

“For what?”

“For me.”

Silence.

Cassandra had known that eventually Mallerie and Owen might cross paths.

The gala hadn't been coincidence.

Mallerie checked the staffing records.

Her assignment had been changed the morning of the event.

Originally, she was scheduled for another ballroom.

Someone had moved her.

The authorization came from a manager who denied making it.

Cassandra had put Mallerie and Owen in the same room.

“But why?” Gideon asked.

Mallerie thought about Owen reaching for her.

The bracelet.

The scar.

The birthmark.

“She wanted me to recognize him.”

“That makes no sense.”

“Unless she wanted something after I did.”

The answer arrived through Dr. Cross.

Police found him the following afternoon hiding in a rented cabin.

Cross confessed quickly.

Cassandra had threatened him.

She had kept copies of everything.

He had falsified the death certificate.

Elaine had lied to Mallerie.

Voss had created the placement.

But Cross revealed one detail nobody expected.

Cassandra had ordered a DNA test immediately after Owen's birth.

“Why?” Mallerie asked.

Cross stared at the floor.

“She wanted to confirm paternity.”

Mallerie's heart stopped.

“Paternity?”

Gideon looked at her.

Mallerie had never told him much about Owen's biological father.

There wasn't much worth telling.

Ethan Shaw.

A brief relationship.

He left when Mallerie told him she was pregnant.

She hadn't heard from him since.

“Who was the father?” Gideon asked quietly.

Mallerie told him.

Cross looked up sharply.

“Ethan Shaw?”

“You know him?”

Cross's face changed.

“Oh God.”

“What?”

Cross rubbed both hands over his face.

“Ethan Shaw wasn't his real name.”

Mallerie stared.

“What are you talking about?”

“He worked for Cassandra.”

The room became silent.

“No.”

“He was supposed to get close to you.”

“No.”

“Mallerie—”

“Don't.”

She stood.

Gideon followed but didn't touch her.

Every memory of Ethan rearranged itself.

The chance meeting.

His curiosity about her mother.

His questions about family.

His disappearance.

“Did Cassandra arrange my pregnancy?”

Cross shook his head quickly.

“I don't know. I swear.”

Mallerie felt sick.

“What did the DNA test show?”

Cross looked toward Gideon.

“That's why Cassandra changed her plans.”

“Tell me.”

“The test showed Ethan wasn't Owen's father.”

Mallerie stared at him.

“That’s impossible.”

Cross said nothing.

She knew the dates.

There had been nobody else.

Unless—

A horrible thought formed.

Cross immediately understood.

“No. Nothing was done to you. Nothing like that.”

“Then explain it.”

“The test wasn't about Owen.”

“What?”

Cross swallowed.

“It was about Ethan.”

Nobody spoke.

“Cassandra wanted to know whether Ethan was biologically related to the baby.”

“Why?”

“Because Ethan was her son.”

Mallerie's knees nearly failed.

Gideon caught her.

Cross continued.

“Cassandra's baby didn't die twenty-nine years ago.”

Mallerie stared at him.

Celeste had been wrong.

Everyone had been wrong.

Cassandra's child had lived.

“Ethan was the baby?”

“Yes.”

“Then Owen is her grandson.”

“Yes.”

The motive suddenly became clearer and more disturbing.

Cassandra hadn't chosen Mallerie randomly.

She had sent her own son into Mallerie's life.

Then Mallerie became pregnant.

Cassandra wanted the child.

“Where is Ethan?”

Cross looked terrified.

“I don't know.”

The door opened.

Adrian entered.

His face said enough.

“What happened?” Gideon asked.

“We found him.”

“Where?”

“Outside.”

Mallerie turned.

A man stood beyond the glass.

Ten months older than when she had last seen him.

Ethan.

Alive.

Watching her.

He raised one hand.

And in it was a photograph of Cassandra holding newborn Owen.