(Emery’s POV)
The man in the doorway didn’t blink.
He stepped inside like he belonged there, like he hadn’t just broken into her life with a single twist of a key.
Emery’s hand tightened around the red one still clutched in her palm.
“You’re not my father,” she said coldly.
He smiled. “No. But I knew him. And your mother.”
“Who the hell are you?”
He took another step forward. “I’m the reason your mother disappeared. The reason Wyatt lost custody. The reason your life has been rewritten piece by piece.”
Her heart pounded. “What do you want?”
He stopped just short of the kitchen island, his voice low and calm. “I want what she took from us. And I think you found it.”
He looked down at her hand.
The red key.
“I don’t know what it opens,” she said, backing up.
He shrugged. “Then l
