I answered without saying a word. For several seconds, there was only silence. Then I heard a familiar voice, older and weaker, but unmistakable. “Steel.” My heart stopped. “Daniel?” He breathed softly. “Take the children and leave the airport.” I looked toward Lily and Owen. “Where are you?” “I can’t tell you.” “Are you alive?” There was a long pause. “Yes.” Behind me, the woman in beige suddenly tried to walk away, but Marco stopped her. I lowered my voice. “Daniel, what is happening?” His answer came quietly. “She knows where they are.” “Who?” “My wife.” I looked at the woman as Daniel continued. “Adrian, the children aren’t the reason they’re after you.” My stomach tightened. “Then what are they after?” He hesitated. “What I hid inside Owen’s teddy bear.” I looked at the little boy. He was holding the old bear against his chest, completely unaware of the fear spreading through the room. “What did you hide?” I asked. Daniel’s voice dropped to a whisper. “The truth about what happened to their mother.” The call suddenly ended. At that exact moment, every light in the terminal flickered. The departure screens went black.

Then, one by one, white letters appeared across them: WELCOME BACK, COLONEL STEEL. Lily grabbed my hand. Somewhere behind us, someone whispered my name. I turned, but nobody was there. Then Owen dropped his teddy bear. A small envelope slipped from inside its torn seam and landed at my feet. My name was written on it. Beneath it were three words: YOU REMEMBER THOMAS. I hadn’t heard that name in twenty-two years. Thomas Vale had been my closest friend, the soldier who died saving my life, and the man who made me promise to protect his family. I slowly looked at Lily and Owen again. Their eyes were the same deep blue I remembered from an old photograph of Thomas. For the first time, I understood that Daniel Carter’s disappearance was only one piece of something much larger. And then Lily looked up at me with tears in her eyes and whispered the words that changed everything. “Colonel Steel… Daddy told us never to let you see what’s inside the bear.”