He brought his dad a sandwich every day. He didn’t know which day his dad would come out.

Victor was questioned that afternoon. He admitted taking the bird from Melissa but said it had broken. He claimed he had thrown it away.

Police searched his office with a warrant tied to the financial investigation. They found the glass bird in a desk drawer, wrapped in a towel.

Inside its hollow base was a tiny memory card.

Rachel had kept copies of Victor’s warehouse invoices and security footage. The records showed that on the night Daniel drove the stolen shipment, Victor’s employees had loaded the truck and changed its identification numbers. They also showed Victor later moving company money into accounts connected to Melissa.

Daniel watched the footage in Priya’s office. Seeing his own face behind the wheel made his stomach turn.

“I still drove it,” he said.

“Yes,” Priya said. “And these records show who planned it. We’ll give them to the investigator.”

Rachel had kept the card because she knew Daniel would eventually come home and ask why Victor had denied everything. She had tried to tell him through letters. None reached him.

The investigation widened. Victor’s attorney stopped returning calls.

For the first time, Daniel thought he might be able to give Noah a steady home.

Then his phone rang.

It was Mrs. Bell. Her voice shook.

“Noah is safe, but someone tried to get into our house.”

“Who?”

“He left when my husband turned on the porch light.”

Daniel heard Noah in the background asking whether his father was coming.

Mrs. Bell lowered her voice. “There’s something else. The man left a note on our door.”