I found proof that money set aside in Ava’s name was being stolen through the home and protected by people with influence here. I tried to go through the right channels. That was a mistake.
Advertisement
If they decide I am dead, let them. Keep Ava away from anyone asking about old records or donations.
I had to stop reading because I couldn’t see.
If it becomes impossible to stay hidden from this, go to Marina Vale. Blue house near the church. Ask for Rosa. She knows what I could not put in writing.
Tell Ava I loved her every day I was gone.
-Daniel
I had to stop reading because I couldn’t see.
Advertisement
Ava was crying openly now. “He was alive?”
The principal spoke for the first time.
I looked at her, then at the letter. “I don’t know what he is now.”
The principal spoke for the first time.
“I know Rosa.”
We all turned.
She looked pale. “Not personally. But my predecessor used to mention her. She volunteered at the home years ago. When the investigations started, her name kept coming up in old archived files. She was one of the few people who tried to report concerns.”
Advertisement
I hated that answer because it made too much sense.
One of the officers nodded. “We already checked. Rosa is real. Still alive. Still in Marina Vale.”
Ava’s voice came out small. “Why didn’t Dad just come back?”
The room went quiet.
Read also
Two little girls walking together holding hands | Source: Freepik
One of My Twin Daughters Died – Three Years Later, on My Daughter’s First Day of First Grade, Her Teacher Said, ‘Both of Your Girls Are Doing Great’
Handmade patchwork tote bags crafted from colorful recycled fabric, neatly displayed on a wooden table | Source: AmoMama
My Former Teacher Embarrassed Me for Years – When She Started on My Daughter at the School Charity Fair, I Took the Microphone to Make Her Regret Every Word
A family sitting together | Source: Freepik
My Parents Made Me Leave Home – But the Very Next Day, Fate Handed Me an Unexpected Gift
Then the officer answered gently. “We don’t know yet. But if he believed people around him were corrupt, he may have thought staying away was the only way to protect you both until he had proof.”
Advertisement
I hated that answer because it made too much sense.
For the first time in months, I knew.
Ava looked at me then, really looked at me, like she was scared I might break apart in front of her.
Instead, I reached over and held her face in both hands.
“Listen to me,” I said. “Whatever we find out next, you are still my daughter. Nothing touches that. Nothing.”
She nodded once and covered my hands with hers.
Advertisement
Then she asked, “What do we do?”
For the first time in months, I knew.
That night, Ava and I packed one bag.
I looked at the letter. Then at the officers.
“We go to Marina Vale.”
One of them said, “We can arrange an escort in the morning.”
That night, Ava and I packed one bag.
I was so tired I had to sit down twice just folding clothes, but adrenaline will do strange things to a sick body.
Advertisement
At one point I looked over and saw Ava carefully placing the wig she made me on top of my things so it would not get crushed.
“We may not like what we find tomorrow.”
I said, “After today, you’re still worried about my wig?”
She gave me a weak smile. “Obviously.”
I sat beside her on the bed.
“We may not like what we find tomorrow.”
“I know.”
Advertisement
“We may find out your father made choices I don’t understand.”
I barely slept.
“I know.”
“But we go together.”
That got the first real expression out of her since the office. She leaned into my shoulder and whispered, “Always.”
I barely slept.
Somewhere close to dawn, I realized that for the first time in a year, the thing beating hardest in me was not fear.
Advertisement
It was hope.
Someone had already knocked on Rosa’s door before sunrise.
By morning, we would be driving to a blue house near a church. To a woman who might know why Daniel vanished. To answers tied to Ava, to me, and to the life I thought had been buried fifteen years ago.
And what I did not know yet was this:
Someone had already knocked on Rosa’s door before sunrise.
And she had let him in.
