A Choice No One Could Buy
Chapter 08 - A Choice No One Could Buy
Adrian offered a reward for information about Leon. Detective Castillo asked him to withdraw the publicity campaign while investigators checked leads. He reluctantly agreed. For once, he couldn't bulldoze his way through a problem.
I took a bus to Rockford to visit Daniel. He'd completed the first stage of his electrician apprenticeship and wanted me to stay for dinner. I told him about the estate, leaving out details investigators had asked me not to discuss publicly.
“You saved a little girl?” he asked.
“I listened to her.”
“Same thing, sometimes.”
He asked whether I planned to return. I told him I didn't know. My old dream of teaching young children felt newly important, but so did my fear of being dependent on anyone powerful.
Daniel set down his fork. “Mom always said gratitude and obligation aren't the same thing.”
He was right. I could care about Lucy without giving Adrian control over my career.
Back in Chicago, Rose had a lengthy call with Lucy's specialist. They agreed to begin with short video conversations. The first lasted four minutes. Lucy held up her stuffed fox. Rose showed her a knitted blue blanket she'd kept for years. Neither knew how to say goodbye, so they decided to sing the cloud song together.
Adrian watched from the corner, crying openly. Later, he thanked me for helping Lucy trust adults again.
“Don't turn her recovery into something she owes either of us,” I said.
His expression softened. “I won't.”
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That night an investigator recovered Leon's abandoned vehicle near a highway motel. His phone was inside, along with a receipt for a storage unit and a note in Vivian's handwriting.
**The note began with a single chilling instruction: 'Keep the child out of sight.'**
