Chapter 2
Stella froze. She hadn’t seen him yet, but that voice had haunted her dreams for years. In the past, whenever her parents and Max had treated her unfairly, it had been Lionel who comforted her, giving her the strength to keep going.
He’d once promised her everything-that he’d go to military school, become a soldier, and marry her so he could protect her properly.
But on the day she was kidnapped, his last words to her had been harsh. He’d said, “Ending up like this is all your own fault.”
In the dark days that followed, she’d turned those words over in her mind until they carved themselves into her bones. He’d blamed her. He truly believed she’d brought this on herself.
The kidnapping had happened right after Stella was accepted into Quentiham University-the top college, a reward for her hard work, while Anna, perpetually sickly, had only managed to get into a community college.
Their parents had demanded that Stella give up her spot for Anna. When she refused, her father Andrew had struck her.
That was the night she ran away. And only Anna had gone after her. And then, both of them vanished. It wasn’t until Anna didn’t return that the family realized they had been taken.
Lionel, the one person Stella’d always trusted, had turned on her for the first time, accusing her of being too stubborn, of causing the kidnapping.
His words had shattered her completely-especially when he added, “Stella, I thought you were innocent. When your parents and brother didn’t trust you, I still did. But look at this. You really let me down.”
‘He’s even suspected I’ve orchestrated the kidnapping. So why’s he here now?’ Stella wondered, confused.
But she didn’t care to find out. Summoning what little strength she had left, she wrenched the car door open, hauled herself inside, and slammed it shut. Her voice, when she finally spoke, was eerily calm, but beneath it simmered a lifetime of pain. “Let’s go.”
Lionel froze. He’d noticed the changes in her immediately. Before coming, he’d read about what happened to abducted girls -how they returned as hollow shells of themselves. The articles had hurt to read, but seeing her like this was even worse.
He’d prepared himself for this moment a thousand times. Yet nothing could have braced him for the reality of the girl he’d watched grow up-emaciated, trembling, dressed in nothing but threadbare clothes in the dead of winter.
His eyes locked with Max’s through the windshield. Max didn’t drive off immediately. Instead, he studied Stella’s blank expression, and then flicked a glance at Lionel in the rearview mirror. When neither of them spoke, Max rolled up the window and pulled away.
Lionel stood there, watching the taillights disappear into the night. Just then, hurried footsteps approached—a police officer came rushing out. “Oh, just missed them,” she muttered in frustration.
Turning, Lionel saw her holding a brand new down jacket.
Recognition flashed across her face-he was that doctor who’d been all over the news lately. “You’re Dr. Quinn, aren’t you?”
“That’s right,” Lionel replied with polite detachment.
The officer clearly knew about his connection to Max, so she figured Lionel was here for Stella. She said, “You came for Stella too, didn’t you? Earlier, she saw another rescued girl shivering without proper clothes and gave away her own jacket.
“We were about to provide supplies, but Stella acted first. Can you believe it? After years in that cave-often without even a
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Chapter 2
proper blanket to keep warm-she still thought of others before herself.
“When we tried to stop her, she just said she’d adapted to the cold and others needed it more. After everything she’s been through, she’s still this kind.”
Her eyes grew shiny with unshed tears. Suddenly remembering her purpose, she thrust the jacket toward Lionel. “I know the Hayes family will provide for her now. But there was something in her eyes when she looked at this. Would you make sure she gets it back?”
Lionel accepted the jacket as if it were made of lead. “I’ll see that she gets it,” he managed to say.
With a grateful nod, the officer turned back to her team.
Exhaustion weighed on Stella like stone. Two years in Dusty Pines had left her body broken-cramped in a cave too small to stand in, chains cutting into her limbs for so long that her hair had turned grey.
The kind police officer had arranged for a barber to shave Stella’s head and gave her a wig to wear. Even standing outside earlier had been a struggle; she’d been desperate for a chance to sit. Now, slumped in Max’s car, she finally let herself rest.
Max hadn’t noticed any of it. Or maybe he just didn’t care to. Even though she’d grown taller, he still saw her as the same greedy girl from his memories-the one who supposedly stole food from Anna’s plate.
Back then, when their parents weren’t home, he’d take her portions and give them to Anna. If Anna couldn’t finish them, he’d toss the leftovers to the neighbor Lionel’s dog. And Lionel, unlike Max, had noticed. He’d sneak Stella food when no one was looking.
As a child, Stella’d brushed it off-unhappiness never lasted long back then. But over the years, the resentment had settled deep.
The dim car interior was a relief. Her eyes, still adjusting to light after so long in darkness, could finally focus. The SUV wasn’t just Max’s-pink trinkets and girly charms dangled from the passenger seat, unmistakably Anna’s.
A scented bag hung behind the driver’s seat, filling the air with something sweet. Probably another of Anna’s favorites. Jaloria might have changed in three years, but some things never did.
Her gaze drifted to Max finally. She hadn’t seen him in three years had shed his youthful edges. The college graduate she remembered was gone, replaced by a man in a tailored suit, every inch the successful businessman.
He caught her staring in the rearview mirror. “You can act like this with me,” he said, voice sharp, “but don’t pull that face when you see Mom and Dad.
“After we got Anna back, we never stopped looking for you. The kidnapper was just too damn slippery. These three years were hell for you-we’ll make it up to you. But don’t think it wasn’t hell for them too. Mom’s aged ten years from guilt.
“So
