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Sophie gives Ivy a quick hug. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Ivy says, waving enthusiastically as her friend disappears into the crowd.

Alexei reaches down and lifts Ivy effortlessly into his arms. She immediately wraps both arms around his neck.

“You danced beautifully,” he tells her.

Ivy beams so brightly I'm surprised the auditorium lights don't surrender.

Nearby, Luka speaks quietly into his earpiece while one of the plainclothes guards moves toward the lobby entrance.

“Can Sophie come over again?” Ivy asks, looking hopefully between Alexei and me.

“We'll discuss it later,” Alexei tells her.

She narrows her eyes. “That's grown-up language for maybe.”

I grin. “You've become entirely too smart.”

Alexei's hand finds mine as we begin making our way toward the lobby with the rest of the crowd. Families surround us. Children dart between adults carrying bouquets nearly as large as they are while parents compare recital schedules and discuss summer vacation plans.

For a few precious minutes, everything feels ordinary. Wonderfully safe. Then somebody screams.

The sound slices through the crowded lobby so sharply that every conversation stops.

“My son!” a woman cries somewhere near the front entrance. Her voice cracks with panic. “Has anybody seen my son?”

Immediately, another voice joins hers.

“Emma?” a man shouts frantically from somewhere deeper in the crowd. “Emma!”

Panic spreads through the lobby with frightening speed. Parents begin calling out names while teachers hurry toward the entrance, trying to make sense of what happened. Around us, children start crying as fear ripples through the crowd.

I instinctively move closer to Alexei. “What happened?”

Luka is already moving. His entire body changes in an instant. The relaxed posture disappears. His expression hardens, and one hand rises to his earpiece.

“Boss,” he says sharply.

Everything happens at once.

Alexei transfers Ivy higher against his chest and turns, placing his body between her and the growing panic. The two plainclothes guards converge on us so quickly they seem to appear from nowhere.

“Luka?” I ask.

Without taking his eyes off the crowd, he says, “Stay close to Alexei.”

The tone of his voice sends unease skittering down my spine.

More shouting erupts near the entrance.

“Oh God.”

“Somebody call the police.”

“Check backstage.”

“I can't find her.”