"My ex left me for a millionaire and didn’t send one dollar for our daughter for three years. Then, out of nowhere, he mailed her a dirty old doll. I almost threw it away… until I woke up at 3 a.m. and saw my little girl pulling something out of its stomach: “Save me. I’m being held captive.”

The service elevator descended with a heavy, mechanical hum. The air grew colder the further down I went, smelling of damp earth and old concrete.

When the doors opened, I stepped into a dimly lit corridor that looked nothing like the luxurious mansion above. It was stark, industrial, and silent.

"Marcus, I'm in the sub-basement," I whispered into the mic hidden in my collar.

"Be careful. I have no eyes down there. The cameras are on a closed loop," he replied.

I moved slowly down the corridor, the handgun Marcus had given me heavy in my pocket. At the end of the hall was a reinforced steel door with a heavy electronic keypad. Through a small, barred window in the door, a faint light flickered.

I crept up to the window and looked inside.

My breath caught in my throat.

Julian was huddled in the corner of a sterile, windowless cell. He was wearing dirty hospital scrubs. He looked worse than he had in the video. His cheekbones jutted out sharply, and he was rocking back and forth, staring blankly at the wall.

"Julian," I whispered, tapping the glass.

He didn't move. The memory pills were destroying his mind.

I looked at the keypad. "Marcus, I need a code for the cellar door."

"Hold on, I'm running a brute-force decryption on her private network," Marcus said. "Try 0-4-1-8."

I punched in the numbers. A red light flashed. Access Denied.

"No good," I hissed.

"Damn it," Marcus muttered. "Try the date she assumed Victoria's identity. 1-1-0-9."

I typed it in. The light turned green, and the heavy locking mechanism clicked open.

I pushed the door open and rushed inside. "Julian. Julian, look at me."

He flinched away from me, his hands covering his face. "No more pills. Please. I signed the offshore accounts. Just let me sleep."

Tears pricked my eyes. I hated this man for abandoning me, for breaking our family. But seeing him reduced to a terrified animal erased all my bitterness, leaving only a fierce, burning pity.

"Julian, it's Sarah," I said softly, catching his wrists and pulling his hands away from his face. "I'm here. Lily got the bear. We got your message."

He blinked, his hollow eyes struggling to focus on my face. Recognition slowly filtered through the haze of the drugs.