"The yellow room," Gideon repeated, his voice dropping into a register so dangerously quiet that the heavy fireplace logs seemed to crackle with sudden hesitation

The phone trembled slightly in Gideon’s massive hand—the only sign of the earthquake shattering his composure.

"Lydia," he choked out, his voice thick with a mixture of disbelief, fury, and overwhelming relief. He stared at the small screen, needing to reach through the glass to confirm she was real, that she wasn't just a hallucination born of exhaustion and grief. "You're alive. You're actually alive."

"I'm sorry," Lydia whispered, tears spilling over her eyelashes as she looked past the camera lens, her gaze instinctively searching for the baby. "I had to run, Gideon. The night Nolan tried to run my car off the bridge, I managed to kick the door open before it hit the water. I hid in the forest near the riverbanks for three days, watching the police pull an empty wreck out of the water. I knew if anyone found out I survived, Nolan would finish the job—and he would use me to get to you."

Gideon stepped closer to the window, shielding the screen with his hand so the baby wouldn't be startled by the glowing light. "Where are you? Send me your coordinates. I’ll send a strike team—"

"No!" Lydia interrupted, her voice urgent and sharp. "You can't send anyone, Gideon. The men holding me... they aren't just Nolan's thugs. They're part of the Syndicate Council's internal enforcement branch. They found me two days ago when I tried to sneak back into Illinois to leave our daughter at your gates. They want Ironwood, and they want you dead."

"Let them come," Gideon snarled, the dark, lethal aura of the mafia boss flaring back to life with terrifying intensity. "They want a war? I’ll burn Chicago to the ground before I let anyone touch my family again."

"Listen to me, Gideon!" Lydia pleaded, her chest heaving as she fought through the pain of her injuries. "Violence won't save us this time. They have leverage. They know about the hidden ledger in the vault—the one containing every bribe, every federal judge, and every politician tied to the Mercer syndicate. They gave me twenty-four hours to deliver the ledger codes, or they kill me and hunt down our daughter."

Gideon’s jaw set into a hard, unyielding line. "They won't get the codes. And they won't touch you."

"They're tracking this call," Lydia said quickly, her eyes darting toward a sound off-screen. Footsteps echoed in the background of her transmission—heavy, metallic boots marching down a concrete corridor. "I have to go. Gideon... protect our little girl. Name her Hope. Because even in the dark, you gave me a reason to survive."

"Lydia—wait!"

BEEP.

The screen went black.

The encrypted connection severed itself, wiping the local cache instantly to prevent any reverse-tracking.

For a long moment, the only sound in the yellow nursery was the soft breathing of the baby resting against Gideon's chest. Marnie stood nearby, her hands clasped over her mouth, tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks.

"Mr. Gideon..." Marnie whispered. "What do we do?"

Gideon looked down at the infant. The baby let out a soft yawn, her tiny fingers still gripping his finger with fierce, unbreakable strength.

He remembered Lydia’s words: Name her Hope.

"We play their game," Gideon said, his voice dropping into a tone so cold and calculated it made the air in the room feel like ice. He turned to Pierce, who had just stepped back into the doorway, having heard every word through his earpiece.