Emily closed her eyes. Everything suddenly made sense.

Ryan had known she was leaving Austin. He knew which flight she was on. He knew she was traveling with Lily. And when he saw the picture of her with Noah Whitman, he hadn’t worried about his daughter.

He’d worried about being exposed.

Then came the message that finally broke something open inside her. I’m giving you 20 minutes to get out of there. If you don’t, I’ll tell everyone you kidnapped my daughter and that you’re sleeping with some guy for money.

Emily trembled. Not from fear. From rage.

Noah looked at the phone before speaking calmly. “This time, you’re not going to answer just to calm him down. This time, you’ll answer with evidence.”