The salon fell silent.
Daniel stopped near the entrance.
His eyes locked onto Ava.
Then onto me.
Nobody moved.
Marisol quietly reached for her phone.
Daniel noticed.
“Wait,” he said.
His voice wasn’t angry.
It was desperate.
“Ava… please tell her the truth.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
“The truth?” I shouted. “You carved ‘LIAR’ into her head!”
Daniel looked genuinely confused.
“What?”
Ava suddenly burst into tears.
“I didn’t want this to happen!”
The entire room watched.
I knelt beside her.
“Ava, sweetheart, what do you mean?”
She sobbed uncontrollably.
Then finally spoke.
“It wasn’t Dad.”
The room froze.
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Ava wiped her eyes.
“It was Ethan.”
My blood ran cold.
Ethan.
My ex-husband.
Ava’s biological father.
The man who had disappeared three years earlier.
“He came to my school last month,” Ava whispered.
“He told me not to tell anyone.”
The salon became completely silent.
“He said Mom stole me from him.”
Tears streamed down her face.
“He got angry when I said Daniel was my real dad.”
My knees nearly gave out.
“He took me to his apartment one day after school.”
The room gasped.
Ava continued crying.
“He shaved my hair… and called me a liar because I said Daniel was my dad.”
I couldn’t breathe.
Daniel’s eyes filled with tears.
Ava looked at him.
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel rushed forward and hugged her tightly.
“You never have to apologize to me.”
At that moment, another phone buzzed.
A police officer standing near the reception desk looked at his screen.
His expression changed instantly.
“We’ve located Ethan.”
The room erupted.
Ava buried her face in Daniel’s chest.
For the first time all day, she looked safe.
But as police rushed outside, the officer received another message.
His face turned pale.
He looked directly at me.
“Ma’am…”
“What is it?”
The officer swallowed hard.
Then said:
“We found Ethan’s apartment.”
My heart pounded.
“And?”
The officer hesitated.
“There are photographs of Ava everywhere…”
He paused.
“…and pictures of other children too.”
