For a moment, nobody moved. Ethan stood frozen, fists still raised, staring at Selena as though the sight of her didn't make sense no matter how many times his mind tried to process it. Susan's restraints fell away under Richard's shaking hands, and she scrambled up from the chair, backing toward Lily with wide, frightened eyes, clearly having no idea what any of this meant beyond the raw terror of having been taken from her own home.
"Selena," Ethan said finally, voice low and dangerous. "You took her. You took Lily's mother."
"It's not what it looks like," Selena said quickly, raising both hands, palms out, in a gesture of surrender that did nothing to ease the tension crackling through the small cabin. "I know how this appears, Ethan, but I swear to you, I didn't bring her here to hur
