The weight of the phone call still presses on my chest as I sit in the silence of my hotel room. Chase is gone. Overdose. The baby brother I abandoned sixteen years ago, dead at twenty-two.

I should feel something - grief, regret, anger - but all I can summon is a hollow numbness. The same numbness that got me through Moreau, through the worst of the jobs, through Meg's funeral when I couldn't bring myself to come home.

The laptop screen glows with Hardison's face, his usually bright eyes dimmed with concern. "You good, man? You've been quiet for twenty minutes."

Parker appears behind him, her small frame radiating tension. "We can come with you." It's not a question.

I rub my face, the stubble scratching against my palms. "No, you two stay on the job. I need to do this alone."

"Bullshit," Parker says flatly. "Family jobs aren't done alone."

Before I can argue, a notification pings on my phone. An unknown number with an Oklahoma area code. My stomach drops. Aunt Lois. She never calls unless it's life or death.

I answer with a shaky breath. "Hello?"

"Danny?" Her voice cracks with tears. "Oh thank God. Listen, there's something you need to know... about Chase."

My grip tightens on the phone. "What about him?"

"He had a little girl, Danny. Rosalia. She's five."

A child. My brother had a child I never knew existed. A child now orphaned.

"Where is she?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"With your sister. Laurel June's taking care of her... for now."

Laurel June. Married to Hunter Classen, the same bully who used to beat Seth senseless in high school. My niece is with that monster.

The numbness shatters. This isn't just about burying a brother anymore.

"I'll be there tomorrow," I say, standing abruptly.

"Eliot, wait -"

I hang up on Hardison, already grabbing my go bag. The job can wait. The team can wait.

There's a little girl who needs saving, and this time, I'm not running away.