Dad shook his head slowly. “I don’t think so. But if she does, she’s made her choice.”

My mind was a whirlwind of emotions. I tried to piece together everything I knew about David—his past, his family, the stories he’d shared. Had it all been a lie? Or was there something deeper, something that even he was trying to escape?

“What do we do now?” I asked, feeling utterly helpless.

“For now, we keep this to ourselves,” Dad replied, his voice firm despite the tremor in his hands. “We need to find out more before we can do anything. But I promise you, we’ll get to the bottom of this. We’ll make sure Emily is safe.”