Alexander Kane pulled into the university parking lot right at 3:47 PM, his silver sedan fitting right in with all the other cars parked along the curb.

He checked his watch, always early, as usual. Precision mattered a great deal in his job, even when it came to picking up his daughter after her first day of grad school.

From his spot in the car, he watched students streaming out of the main building, their laughter and chatter creating a bubble of normal life that he’d carefully built around Emma’s world.

Normal. Safe. Unremarkable.

That’s what he had given her for twenty-three years: a quiet life in their small but comfy home, away from the craziness of his past.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number, "Timeline moving faster than expected. Stay alert."

He deleted it right away, his jaw tightening.

Then he spotted her.

Emma Kane burst through the main doors, her backpack bouncing against her shoulders, and her dark hair catching the afternoon sun.

She was grinning, animatedly chatting with another girl, both of them looking like they’d just shared a hilarious joke.

A warm feeling filled Alexander’s chest, maybe pride, or relief that she’d made a friend so quickly on her first day of the master’s program.

Emma saw the car and waved, said something to her new friend, then started jogging toward him.

Halfway across the quad, everything changed.

The girl Emma had been talking to, a petite blonde holding onto her textbooks, suddenly froze. Her face went pale, and her books dropped from her hands, scattering on the grass.

Then she collapsed.

"Oh my God!" Emma yelled, spinning around and running back.

Alexander’s instincts kicked in immediately. He was out of the car in no time, scanning for any threats, his hand moving toward the concealed weapon at his hip before he remembered where he was.

Stay calm. You’re just a concerned parent.

By the time he reached the small group gathering around the fallen girl, two security guards and Emma were already there. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The girl, Ayla, as he would later find out, was unconscious, her breathing rapid and shallow.

"Someone call an ambulance!" one of the guards shouted.

Emma knelt beside the girl, her panic clear. "Ayla! Ayla, can you hear me?"

A tall young man pushed his way through the crowd, worry all over his face. "Move! Let me through!"

He dropped next to the girl and quickly checked her pulse. "She’s breathing. Her pulse is fast. Ayla, it’s Liam. Can you hear me?"

No response came.

The ambulance showed up in minutes; luckily, the university had a medical response team on standby. As the paramedics loaded the girl onto a stretcher, Emma stood frozen, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Alexander placed a hand on her shoulder. "Emma, come on. Let’s go."

"But, Dad, we have to—"

"The paramedics have her. She’ll be okay." His tone was kind but firm. "Let’s get to the car."

Emma didn’t budge, watching as the ambulance doors shut and it sped away with sirens blaring.

Alexander took in his daughter’s expression, seeing her real concern and tears. Emma had only known this girl for a few hours, and she was already so attached.

Too trusting. Too soft.

Even at twenty-three, with her bachelor’s degree already in hand, Emma still wore her heart on her sleeve, exactly the opposite of what she’d need to handle if his past ever caught up with them.

"Emma," he said again, more firmly this time.

She finally turned to him, her brown eyes pleading. "Dad, she was in my class. It was her first day too. We became friends during orientation. We were going to study together."

"And she’ll be fine," Alexander cut in, leading her firmly toward the car. "Whatever happened, the doctors will take care of it. There’s nothing we can do."

*****

The ride home was super tense.

Emma was staring out the window, her phone gripped tightly in her hand, constantly checking for updates from what Alexander figured was a group chat with other grad students.

"We should go to the hospital," she suddenly said. "St. Catherine’s. That’s where they took her."

"No."

"Dad—"

"Emma, it was just your first day." Alexander kept his eyes on the road, trying to keep his voice calm. "And you’re already so invested in someone you barely know. You need to be more careful about who you trust."

"I’m not ’invested,’" Emma shot back, her voice getting louder. "She’s my friend. She collapsed right in front of me. What kind of person would I be if I didn’t—"

"A smart one," Alexander replied quietly.

The words hung in the air, sharp and cold.

Emma turned to give him a look, hurt written all over her face. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

Alexander sighed and softened his tone. "It means the world isn’t always nice, sweetheart. People aren’t always who they appear to be. I just want you to be cautious."

"She’s a grad student, Dad. Not some criminal mastermind." Emma crossed her arms. "I’m twenty-three. I think I can figure out who to be friends with."

If only you knew, Alexander thought to himself, feeling grim.

"I get it, you’re an adult," he said, choosing his words carefully. "But can you just humor your old man for a second? I’ve seen more of the world than you have. Sometimes being cautious isn’t a bad idea."

"Sometimes caution is just paranoia," Emma muttered.

The rest of the drive went by in silence, with Emma pointedly ignoring him as she scrolled through her phone, her jaw set in that stubborn way that reminded him so much of...

He shook off the thought. No point in dwelling on old memories.

Their house looked exactly as they left it that morning: neat, organized, and quietly lonely.

It was a small place, with three bedrooms, a kitchen that had a laundry area, a cozy dining space, and a living room that Emma had decorated with throw pillows and fairy lights to make it feel less empty.