Innocent baby girl sobs uncontrollably while forced to eat from dirty dog bowl.

Five miles away, Arthur was sitting in the back of his executive town car, returning from the legal meeting, when his phone vibrated violently.

It was an automated alert from a secondary, encrypted security server he had installed on his personal phone weeks ago—one that ran independently of the mansion’s main grid.

ALERT: PRIMARY MANSION POWER CUT. BACKUP GENERATORS TAMPERED WITH. OCCUPANT SENSORS OFFLINE.

Arthur’s heart stopped. "Jackson! Respond!" he shouted into his bluetooth headset.

Silence. Only static answered.

"David! Drive! Now!" Arthur roared at his chauffeur, kicking the back of the front seat. "Break every speed limit! Go!"

The chauffeur slammed his foot on the accelerator. The heavy armored town car roared to life, weaving dangerously through evening downtown traffic, tires screeching against wet asphalt as it sped toward the Sterling estate.

Arthur pulled a hidden drawer open under his leather seat, pulling out a sleek black handgun. He checked the magazine, chambered a round, and gripped it tight, his knuckles turning pure white.

"If she touches my daughter again," Arthur whispered, his voice trembling with a terrifying, unhinged rage, "God help me, I will end her myself."

Ten minutes felt like ten centuries. The town car burst through the broken gates of the estate, spinning to a halt right in front of the main entrance steps.

Arthur threw the door open before the car had even completely stopped, leaping out and sprinting into the pitch-black mansion.

"MARIA! LILY!" Arthur yelled into the dark, sweeping his weapon's mounted light across the grand foyer.

He saw Maria lying near the kitchen entrance, groaning softly as she regained consciousness, blood staining her white uniform.

"Mr... Mr. Sterling..." Maria gasped, holding her head. "She's upstairs... Evelyn... she took the baby..."

Arthur didn't wait. He bounded up the stairs four at a time, his heart slamming against his ribs, driven by pure, primal paternal instinct.

He reached the top floor just in time to see a dark figure rushing down the rear service corridor toward the emergency fire escape door—holding a struggling, blanket-wrapped bundle under her arm.

"EVELYN!" Arthur’s roar echoed off the walls like thunder.

Evelyn stopped near the open fire door, the cold night wind howling into the corridor. She turned around, holding Lily in front of her like a human shield. Lily was screaming, kicking her legs, crying for her father.

"Stay back, Arthur!" Evelyn shrieked, her hair flying wildly in the wind. "Stay back or I’ll throw her off the fire escape! It’s a forty-foot drop to the stone patio below!"

Arthur stopped instantly, ten feet away. His gun was trained directly on Evelyn's head, but he couldn't take the shot without risking his daughter's life.

"Put her down, Evelyn," Arthur commanded, his voice deadly steady, though tears of pure terror burned his eyes. "Put my daughter down. It’s over. You lose."

"I don't lose!" Evelyn screamed, her eyes completely crazed. "My father’s company is ruined because of you! My life is over! If I’m going to prison, you’re coming with me in grief!"

She shifted her footing, pulling Lily closer to the edge of the metal railing.

In that split second of movement, Lily did something no one expected.

Remembering the strength her father had shown her, the small girl reached out with all her tiny force and bit down hard on Evelyn’s neck.

Evelyn let out a sharp shriek of agony, her grip slipping as she instinctively reached up to grab her neck.

Lily fell from her arms—not over the railing, but onto the indoor corridor floor.

"LILY!" Arthur lunged forward like an apex predator, ignoring everything else, scooping his falling daughter into his arms and rolling onto his back to shield her body from the impact.

Evelyn stumbled backward, her heels catching on the wet metal threshold of the fire escape door. She lost her balance, her arms flailing wildly in the dark air.