He hadn’t told the kids anything.
“I sent you a video. The bad woman who looks just like Mommy took her away. She’s going to hurt her! Daddy, you have to go save Mommy!”
When Noah and Oliver saw what was happening to Madeline, they both burst into tears.
Julian’s jaw clenched. “Don’t cry. Let me check.”
He ended the call and opened the video. Madeline had filmed it herself, and Claire’s face was right there on screen.
Julian watched the whole thing in silence, not saying a word. He was so calm it was almost scary.
Miles, up front, didn’t need to see the video to understand how bad things were. Just hearing the audio, he could tell Madeline was in real danger.
Julian froze the last frame and replayed it over and over, searching for any clue in the room’s furniture or layout. He was desperate to figure out where Madeline might be.
Meanwhile, Claire and her crew were combing the hills, looking everywhere for Madeline.
Luke ran, carrying Madeline in his arms, pushing through the wild grass as the faint moonlight struggled to light their way. He was injured, running out of strength, and getting slower with every step.
They didn’t know this place at all. Trees everywhere, nothing familiar, every direction looking exactly the same.
“Luke, let me down,” Madeline’s voice trembled.
Luke set her down quickly. “Are you okay?”
She blinked hard, fighting to keep her eyes open. Moonlight slipped through her fingers, but her vision just kept getting blurrier until, finally, it went completely dark.
“I…” Madeline waved her fingers in front of her face, over and over, until she realized this darkness wasn’t going away.
Losing her sight only made her other senses sharper. She couldn’t get used to it. Every tiny sound around her made her heart race.
Luke noticed she was standing still, frozen. He reached out gently and waved his hand in front of her face.
Her beautiful eyes didn’t react at all.
“Madeline, are you…”
“I can’t see,” she whispered. Her mind was an absolute mess and fear was spreading fast, but her face stayed calm. She didn’t let herself panic—this wasn’t the time. They still had to get away from Claire.
She reached her hand out toward Luke and he grabbed it right away.
“It must’ve been something Claire did… that powder,” she said quietly. “I can’t see. So I need you to help me now.”
“I’ll get you out of here, even if it kills me.”

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