Chapter 10 - The Promise at the Back Door
Helen arranged a quiet rescue with local police while Antonio waited beyond the driveway. I watched the kitchen window, afraid every second would be the one that came too late.
Mia appeared at the back door, barefoot and shivering. An officer reached her first. I wrapped my coat around her and felt her fingers close around my wrist.
“I thought the woman was Mom's friend,” she whispered.
The woman had shown her a photograph of Elena and promised to take her to a letter. Instead, she locked Mia in a bedroom and demanded to know where the brass key was. Mia had refused to answer.
The woman escaped through a side exit, but officers recovered her phone. The messages on it came from a number linked to Victor Sloane.
Antonio held Mia as if he could keep the world away by refusing to let go. He thanked the officers, then asked her permission before touching the scar on her cheek.
“You never have to hide this from me,” he said. “Not for a picture. Not for anyone.”
Back at the estate, I made soup while Mia slept. Antonio came into the kitchen and admitted he had mistaken providing security for being present.
“I don't know how to fix three years,” he said.
“One day at a time,” I answered.
May you like
He stepped closer. “Will you help us?”
I wanted to say yes. But I also knew what it meant to become essential to a family that could be torn apart overnight. Before I could answer, Helen arrived with news: the woman who had taken Mia had been arrested, and she had named Carlo as the man who paid her.
