it already. There’s not a single bit of me in the large space my own mother so carefully planned in anticipation of her little girl. But as soon as I flip on the light, a small bundle stirs on the floor. Sitting up, Ellie rubs her eyes, blinking from the sudden brightness.
“Did I win?” she asks sleepily.
“Ellie, oh my God.” I lift her into my arms, pressing her tiny body closely to mine, burying my face in her hair and breathing in her soft, perfect scent. She still smells like my baby, even after all these years. “What are you doing in here?”
“Mommy told me we should play hide-n-seek with you,” she says, her voice smothered slightly by how tightly I’m holding her. I loosen my grip only a little, so I can see her face.
“You were playing a game?” I ask.
“Yes, but it wasn’t any fun. It was dark,” she says, her lower lip beginning to tremble, “and she told me you would come and take me for a sleepover, and I tried to wait...does this mean I don’t get to stay with you?”
“You aren’t in trouble,” I kiss each of her cheeks. “I’m sorry it took me so long to find you.”
“I didn’t like where mommy told me to hide,” she says in the hushed tone of a child confessing to a crime, “so, I came here. I always feel safe here.”
“You’re safe,” I whisper to her, “but we need to go tell everyone that, okay?”
I take my time walking out of the room. When I reach the corridor I see the faint flashing of blue and red lights, and it feels as if a hook pierces me through the chest, trying to drag me back in time. It’s different this time. I have to believe that. It’s the only reason I can keep putting one foot in front of the other. I block out the shouts of people below and focus on Ellie and how her thin arms twine around my neck.
“Oh thank God!” Felix’s voice is the first to break through the protective bubble I’ve cast around us.
The next is less comforting. “Give her to me!”
Ginny blocks me on the stairs, snatching at her, but Ellie cries out, refusing to let me go. There’s a cluster of police officers in the foyer along with Sterling and my brother. Everyone is frozen for a moment, each processing the scene before them. Then, all hell breaks loose. Ginny uses this to her advantage, reaching for Ellie again.
“Don’t touch her,” I say in a lethal whisper.
“We found your bag,” Ginny says, holding up the black canvas duffel from before along with Ellie’s bear. “You were going to kidnap her!”
I’d been so focused on finding her that I’d forgotten about the planted evidence.
“What is she talking about, Adair?” Malcolm demands, moving toward the base of the stairs.
I force my way past Ginny, edging away from Malcolm at the stairs to move in the direction of where Sterling stands with the police.
“You need to start explaining what happened now,” Malcolm continues. “I never thought you would stoop as low as taking her in the night.”
Sterling tenses next to me, moving to stand between me and my brother but I step forward, choosing my words carefully. Thanks to Ginny’s game, Ellie is scared enough. I don’t need to add to her confusion. “Do you really believe that?” I ask him quietly. “Have I ever done anything to put her in jeopardy?”
“The courts thought so,” he says, but he sounds uncomfortable. He knows the truth. He’s watched. Maybe Malcolm once believed all the lies Ginny and my father spun to get custody of Ellie, but that’s the thing about spinning deceit, one wrong move and everything begins to unravel.
“They did. How couldn’t they with all that glaring evidence?” I point out sarcastically. “I suppose I didn’t learn my lesson. A bag of my clothes—what was I thinking?”
“Arrest her!” Ginny screams. “You heard her admit to it.”
I turn to the police officers, ignoring the panicked look on Sterling’s face. “Why would I come back with her?”
“Because we caught you! You couldn’t get away, so you’re going to try to make it look like it’s a misunderstanding.” Ginny stomps towards us, and Ellie shrinks in my arms as if to make herself invisible.
A female officer’s eyes narrow, noticing this. She turns her studious gaze on me. It takes me a second to realize I know her, but I place her immediately.