Chapter One

Newton, Massachusetts

Phillip Evans and his wife are trapped in their living room; government agents have surrounded them. After placing video cameras around his house to record the way he and his wife will be treated, Mr. Evans calls an old lawyer friend, Shelby Tremaine.

Shelby had known Phillip Evans since grade school. She had been a chubby kid, but Phillip had always protected her. As they grew older, Shelby gained confidence and went into law. She had always been friends with Phillip and his wife, Diane. She even became like an aunt to Isabel and Max.

When Max's child needed an adoptive family, Phillip called Shelby and decided to tell her the truth about Max and Isabel's alien origins. She found a family for baby Zan and agreed to keep Phillip's children's secret.

Now, she receives a phone call from Phillip, who sounds panicked and calm at the same time. Phillip instructs her to call Jesse Ramirez "and go ahead with the plans [Phillip] put in place." Since the government is attacking the alien teens and everyone they love, Phillip is turning to his last option: threatening to let the public know about Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess.

Shaking, Shelby calls Jesse, who is living in Boston, and sets up a meeting with him after telling him she needs to speak to him about a "Mr. Antar."

Boston

After receiving a phone call, Jesse is worried about the motives of the caller. He knows his phones had been bugged before. On impulse, he calls the Evans' house and is dismayed to discover an authoritative voice has answered the phone; Jesse is sure that voice belongs to an agent of the Special Unit.

Grabbing a duffle bag and the same gun he had used to shoot an agent to protect Isabel months before, he takes off.