Those were the words I wanted her to hear before the door of the black van divided us. I couldn't say it then. Too much screaming and crying. Her teary eyes—her red button nose—her little mitten hands trying to reach me. Just looking at her helpless face was enough to awaken the crazy in me. All I wanted to do at that moment was tear those men away from her. I wanted to scar their faces, gouge out their eyes, and break them. Just a job to those thugs. Whether it was lying, kidnapping, or murder, it was just a job. I knew this but the hatred kept on gushing out from the cracks of my broken heart. I wanted them all to suffer for laying their filthy hands on Mana.

Now looking back, perhaps I should've been more interested in who's and why's. Thank goodness I recognized a few faces from the police database. This would give me a good place to start.

Mana and I weren't alone that morning. I remember Adam standing there beside me. He wanted to take Mana to the movies. Adam never offered but I insisted on tagging along. There was work for me at the station but it wasn't quite urgent enough to tempt me. It had been a long time since we went out for some family fun, just the three of us. It would be nice once in a while but it seemed Adam was never in the mood. Maybe I should've suspected something when he told me I needed to focus more on work and not going out. Whatever it was I felt, I carelessly ignored. Perhaps he didn’t understand the importance of family time.

Mana ran all over the apartment happily in her pink pajamas as I fixed us breakfast. Eggs, bacon, and toast. She couldn't contain the excitement about watching her favorite super galactic heroine, Cosmic Girl. After breakfast, I ushered Mana into the bathroom. She wanted me to brush her teeth for her.

You're a big girl now I told her.

Mana’s head sank. I gently patted her chubby cheeks and reminded her that Cosmic Girl doesn't have her mommy brush her teeth for her. That did the trick. Of course it did. Once she finished cleaning her teeth, I dressed her up warmly. Her favorite jeans, sweater, jacket, scarf, and beanie. She looked especially adorable all bundled up.

I looked out into the living room and found Adam all dressed. Something felt out of place. The Detroit Free Press laid untouched next to him on the coffee table. I didn't think of questioning him. He must have still been mad about me skipping work to go to the movies with him and Mana. I turned around to see Mana standing behind me with Mr. Curly Bear in her arms.

Can I bring him to watch Cosmic Girl too? He really likes to watch Cosmic Girl with me on TV. I nodded at her and she smiled—that last sweet smile—for me.

Daddy, Daddy. Can I sit in the front seat? Mommy said I was a big girl now.

Adam shook his head. Not today, princess. Maybe tomorrow.

He went down first to warm up the car while I closed up the windows and made sure everything was locked. Mana came running to me with a mini scarf in her hand. She wanted me to wrap it around Mr. Curly Bear’s neck like I did for her. The whole dress-up routine seemed so silly but I enjoyed seeing her little friendship with Mr. Curly Bear. They were like twins. I finished tying the scarf and we were out the door by 9:30AM.

Adam wanted to catch the first showing. The tickets were cheaper by a few dollars—not that they were expensive to begin with. Ever since the alien parasite infestation began, less people left their homes for past-time purposes. They had every right to be afraid while the parasites were airborne. The epidemic had settled down now. Either you were infected already or not. As long as you weren't in contact with open wounds and needles, it was perfectly fine. Adam and I agreed not to lock Mana up in the apartment like many other paranoid parents do to their precious children. She deserved a normal childhood.

We arrived at the theater parking lot by 9:55AM. There were already a few cars there including a large black van. I don’t remember the others—just the van. Adam stepped out of the car first and scanned the area as if in search of something. I was in the back seat with Mana who had fallen asleep on the drive there. She looked like an angel while she slept. Her long black lashes against her rosy cheeks. Her soft dark curls peeping out from under the beanie. Oh how I loved everything about her.

Cyndi. Wake the little doll up. It’s almost time.

I felt confused. Wasn’t the earliest showing at 10:30 or did they change it? Mana shifted and Mr. Curly Bear joined the other toys on the floor of Adam’s car. I her cheek until she blinked at me. Mana still had a dazed look in her eyes.

Don’t you want to see Cosmic Girl, sleepyhead? I asked her.

Mana snapped out of her sleep faster than you could say Cosmic Girl. She replied by opening the car door all by herself. I followed her out. And in her excitement, she had forgotten her friend Mr. Curly Bear so I retrieved it for her. The three of us made our way to the main building. The black van roared and sped recklessly out of its parking spot and stopped right in front, blocking our way. The doors opened and out leaped four shady looking men. Were they trying to rob us? Didn’t they know Adam was a cop? The men in black went straight for Mana. I was caught off guard.

When my mind finally registered the shocking turn of events, Mana was already being hauled into the black van. I lunged after her only to be caught by a man behind me.

Good work, Detective Cornwell.

I struggled against the man’s vice-like grip. My eyes jumped from face to face until they landed on Mana again. She was frightened, I know. Her little mitts were reaching for me when the doors closed. The van drove out of the parking lot as if nothing had happened. It turned a corner and Mana was lost to me.

With the van out of sight, the man released me and I crumbled to the ground. The gravel bit into my bare hands. The sting was nothing compared to what I felt inside my chest at that moment.

Don’t worry, Cyndi. Everything is going to be fine.

Fine? I felt the hot tears rolling down my frozen cheeks. They took Mana away—even if she wasn’t his child, he should have done something—anything. Adam stood there as if everything was under control. We were to be separated, Mana and I. Where they were taking her, only God knows. Why were they doing this? For what purpose?

I thought it had something to do with the current case I was working on but that wasn't it. Adam was involved somehow. He knew they were taking Mana away. He allowed it. I wiped away my tears and stood up to face him.

Nothing bad is going to happen to Mana.

How would he know? How could he trust those men, the ones he was paid to put behind bars? After what seemed like an hour of babbling, I finally understood what he had done. Adam traded Mana for blood harvesting rumors. He wanted to be the first person to catch the blood draining murderer.There was no doubt what his sick priorities were. I knew right then it was over. I would get no help from him. Adam was always a stubborn . He could not even tell me why they wanted Mana.

Don’t do anything stupid, okay?

Yeah. I won’t do anything stupid. He was stupid enough for the both of us. What kind of man does this to a child? She even called him Daddy. What kind of information did he get in return for Mana? Did he even find a name? Get an address? They could have made all that crap up and fed it to him—Did he just blindly believed their lies?

Greedy ing bastard.

You know I love Mana as much as you do. I promise I’ll get her back as soon as I—just trust me on this one.

As soon as what? As soon as you found a killer? When will that be? Tomorrow, next week, next year? The urge to slap him was great but I restrained myself. There would be more of this in the future. I felt certain of it. I had to practice restraint and keep my mind clear. Yelling at Adam would gain nothing and so I stopped there.

Should I be angry now? Should I cry? For some reason, I felt like laughing. Adam was so gullible. He really thought I would wait for him to bring Mana back safe and sound? So wrong, he was.

I got back into the car and waited for him to take us back home.

Wait for me, Mana. Mommy is coming.