Mateo nodded.

He started to leave.

He turned.

Emma lowered her voice.

“Was anyone following me before last night?”

Mateo’s expression became unreadable.

“Why would you ask that?”

“A car has been watching my daughter.”

The warmth vanished from his face.

“What kind of car?”

“Gray sedan. Red sticker in the windshield.”

“Did you get the plate?”

“Did the driver approach her?”

Mateo took out his phone.

“What are you doing?”

“Making an inquiry.”

“To whom?”

“People who may recognize the description.”

Emma stepped closer.

“I did not ask for your help.”

“Then stop.”

He met her eyes.

“With respect, Ms. Harper, a vehicle appearing near a child on multiple occasions is not something I am willing to ignore.”

“You are not willing?”

“Mr. Castillo would not be.”

“He does not get a vote.”

Mateo slipped the phone back into his pocket.

“You are right.”

His agreement did not reassure her.

“Why is he interested in me?”

“The necklace.”

“That is not enough.”

“No,” Mateo said. “It is not.”

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“That is a question for him.”

“I don’t intend to see him again.”

Mateo placed the white box on the reception desk.

“Then perhaps that will make your life easier.”

He walked away.

Inside the box were two small chocolate cakes.

One had HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA written across it.

The other had a sugar unicorn.

Emma stared at it for a long time.

Then she put both cakes in the staff refrigerator and hated herself for wondering whether Lily would smile.

At three o’clock, the preschool called.

“Ms. Harper, Lily is safe,” the director said immediately.

The word frightened Emma before anything else was explained.

“What happened?”

“A man came to the front desk asking to see her.”

Emma gripped the phone.

“He said he was her father.”

The hallway tilted.

Lily’s father had not been seen în aproape patru ani.

“What was his name?”

“Ryan Cole.”

Emma closed her eyes.

Her ex-husband.

The man who disappeared when Lily was six months old.

The man who emptied their savings account, left a note saying he needed time, and never returned.

“Did Lily see him?”

“No. We followed the contact list and refused entry.”

“Is he still there?”

“He left when we called security.”

“I’m coming.”

Emma did not remember taking off her gloves.

She barely remembered asking the charge nurse to cover the rest of her shift.

She ran from the hospital, caught a cab she could not afford, and called Mrs. Chen on the way.

By the time she reached the preschool, Lily was sitting in the director’s office coloring a picture of a purple horse.

She ran into Emma’s arms.

Emma held her too tightly.

Lily squirmed.

“You are squeezing my bones.”

“I’m sorry.”

Emma loosened her