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She wraps her arms around my neck. I lift her, and she settles against my shoulder with the rabbit tucked between us. For a moment I simply hold her. I nearly lost her today.

I've been aware of that since Kirill called but holding her now makes it real in a way the footage didn’t.

I press my mouth to her hair. “You're staying home tomorrow,” I tell her.

She sighs. “Papa, I have schoolwork.”

“You can do it here.”

“That sounds boring.”

“For both of us.”

She giggles against my neck.

I carry her upstairs.

Anya falls asleep in my bed before nine, one hand curled around the duck and the other resting on the pillow beside her.

I stay until her breathing settles, then return to my office.

Sergei is already there.

“We have something on the maintenance truck,” he says as I sit down.

“Go on.”

“The contractor received a call this morning asking him to move the work to the western entrance. The caller claimed to be from the school administration, but the number doesn't belong to anyone there.”

“Prepaid?”

“Yes. Activated yesterday, switched off after the call.”

“Have we spoken to the driver?”

“He says he was told to arrive at two-thirty and block the service access while the work was being carried out. He thought the school had approved it.”

“Did he know what was supposed to happen?”

“We don't think so, but we're checking his finances and communications.”

I look at the footage on the monitor. The sedan is frozen just before it enters the driveway. Someone arranged a distraction. Someone knew Anya's route. And someone was close enough to tell the driver when to move.

“Check the buildings opposite the school,” I say. “If the driver was receiving instructions, whoever was watching Anya had to be somewhere with a view of the entrance.”

“We're working through the cameras now.”

“Good. I also want the household access logs reviewed. Staff, visitors, maintenance, deliveries, anyone who could have seen the schedule or heard where Anya would be picked up.”

Sergei nods. “Everyone?”

“Everyone. I don't care how long they've worked here.”

He makes a note.

I lean back and look at the screen again. The car enters the frame. Anya steps into the road. Elara runs.

I have watched it enough times now that I know the sequence by heart, but I still find myself following her rather than the vehicle.