Vanessa stomped on Sophie’s drawing of her dead mother right in front of her.

Night fell fast and heavy over the lake.

Thomas and I worked through the evening, following Claire’s instructions. We set up motion sensors along the driveway and the trails leading through the woods. We checked cameras hidden in the trees—small, solar-powered, positioned to cover every approach. We stocked supplies: food, water, first aid, extra batteries, and a secure radio system Claire had left for communication.

Sophie stayed close by, helping where she could, carrying small items, handing us tools. She never complained. She never cried. She simply watched and listened, her young eyes taking in everything.

By nine o’clock, everything was in place.

We sat around the kitchen table, eating simple soup and bread. The lights were low. The curtains drawn tight. Outside, the wind rustled through the pines and water lapped quietly at the shore.

“Vanessa knows this area,” Thomas said quietly. “Claire told her about the cottage. She may not know exactly where it is, but she will know the general area. She will lead them here.”

“How many?” I asked.

Thomas frowned.

“Hard to say. If she convinced them the evidence is here… they will send enough men to take the place quickly. Six. Maybe ten. Possibly more.”

“And weapons?”

Thomas nodded gravely.

“They do not come to talk, Adrian. They come to take what they believe is theirs. And anyone who stands in their way… disappears.”

I thought of Sophie sleeping in the next room. I thought of Claire’s letter. Do not let them take her.

“Then we make this place impossible to take,” I said.

After dinner, I carried Sophie to bed in the small back bedroom. I tucked her in, kissed her forehead, and sat beside her until her breathing turned soft and even. Before I left, she reached out and touched my hand.

“Daddy?”

“I’m right here, baby.”

“Will you stay with me?”

My heart ached.

“I will be just outside the door. And Grandpa is down the hall. No one will get past us. I promise.”

She gripped my hand tighter for a moment, then slowly let go.

“Okay. Goodnight, Daddy.”

“Goodnight, Sophie.”

I stepped out into the hallway and closed the door partway.

Thomas stood at the end of the hall, watching the front windows.

“Something is happening,” he said quietly.

I walked to his side.

“Where?”

“On the road. About a mile away. The motion sensors are triggering in sequence. Someone is coming. Slowly. Carefully. Scouting the place before they strike.”

I looked at the clock on the wall.

Four days remaining.

“They are early,” I said.

“They are impatient,” Thomas replied. “And Vanessa is pushing them. She wants what she believes is hers. And she is afraid we will destroy the evidence before she can take it.”

I walked to the table and picked up the radio. Then I walked to the gun cabinet Claire had built into the wall—locked, but Thomas had given me the combination. Inside were two hunting rifles, a pistol, and boxes of ammunition.

I loaded the pistol and slipped it into my pocket.

Thomas watched me.

“Claire hoped it would not come to this,” he said.

“Claire also said to protect Sophie at any cost,” I replied. “I intend to keep that promise.”

We sat in the dark kitchen, side by side, watching the monitors. Red dots appeared on the screen—motion sensors triggering one by one, moving closer.

Three men.

Four.

Then silence.

They had stopped just beyond the treeline. Watching. Waiting for daylight.

“They know we are ready,” Thomas said. “That is why they paused. They expected an empty cottage. A surprise raid. Instead… they found a fortress.”