The first police cruiser arrived within six minutes.

Officer Daniel Brooks stepped onto the porch beside me while another officer circled the property with a flashlight.

"You were the one who received the call?" he asked.

I nodded.

"My granddaughter said her mother hadn't woken up all day."

Daniel's expression hardened.

"Do either of them have medical conditions?"

"No."

A second officer appeared at the side of the house.

"Back window's unlocked."

The officers exchanged glances.

"Ma'am, please stay here."

I watched helplessly as they entered.

Every second felt like an hour.

Then I heard shouting from inside.

"Clear!"

"Kitchen clear!"

"Bedroom clear!"

A few moments later Officer Brooks emerged.

His face had turned pale.

"What is it?" I demanded.

"Your daughter and granddaughter aren't here."

My knees nearly gave out.

"Then where are they?"

He hesitated.

"We found signs they left suddenly."

Inside the house, drawers were open.

A coffee mug sat shattered on the floor.

A chair had been knocked over.

Most disturbing of all was Alyssa's cell phone lying beneath the couch.

No mother voluntarily leaves without her phone.

Then an officer called from the bedroom.

"Detective needs to see this."

They found a journal hidden beneath Alyssa's mattress.

The final entry had been written two days earlier.

If anything happens to me, look at Nathan.

Nathan.

My ex-son-in-law.

Lily's father.

The man Alyssa divorced three years earlier after accusing him of controlling behavior.

Suddenly, the case became something far more dangerous than a missing-person report.

It became a possible abduction.

And nobody knew where Lily was.