The Woman Who Remembered the Lullaby
Chapter 07 - The Woman Who Remembered the Lullaby
Rosa Alvarez was found alive in a rehabilitation facility outside Scranton. She had been admitted under incomplete identification records after a medical emergency, and her memory of the preceding days was confused. Investigators confirmed that she could receive visitors, but cautioned Victor not to question her himself. Her safety and well-being mattered more than his desire for immediate answers.
When her sister entered the room, Rosa began to cry. She had been afraid no one would find her. She described being threatened after documenting Matthew's treatment and waking in an unfamiliar vehicle. Some details remained uncertain, and detectives would corroborate her account with medical and transportation records. What mattered to Victor first was that she was alive.
He told Matthew gently. The boy sat perfectly still, as though even happiness might be a trick. 'She's really alive?' 'Yes.' 'Not a story?' Victor showed him a short video greeting Rosa had recorded with professional guidance. Rosa smiled weakly and sang two notes of the lullaby she used to sing when Matthew was frightened. He began sobbing before she reached his name.
Hannah attended the reunion weeks later, when Rosa had recovered enough to meet safely in a family-services center. The room was bright, with small chairs and a basket of toys. Matthew walked toward Rosa and stopped halfway, uncertain whether he was allowed to touch her. Rosa opened her arms. He ran. Victor turned toward the window because he could not bear to watch without crying.
Afterward Rosa thanked Hannah. 'I thought nobody would believe him,' she said. Hannah shook her head. 'He saved himself when he finally found the words.' Rosa looked at the cake box Hannah had brought. 'Funny. His mother used to bake chocolate cake for his birthday.' The mention of Elena made Victor turn back. He hadn't heard her name spoken warmly in a long time.
Elena Davis had died in a crash, and Victor had accepted the official account without questions beyond the police report. Rosa now revealed that Elena had been worried about Raymond's influence over household finances before she died. She had asked Rosa to keep notes of unusual visitors. Nothing Rosa knew proved that Elena's death was anything other than an accident. Still, the timing of the financial discrepancies made Victor feel as though the ground beneath him had shifted.
The investigators found in Rosa's notebook a photograph of Elena holding Matthew, a recipe written in her handwriting, and a date circled in red: three days before the crash. Beside it Elena had written, 'Talk to Victor. No more postponing.' Victor stared at the words. He remembered her trying to speak as he hurried out to a late meeting. 'After this deal,' he'd told her. He'd been saying that for years.
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At night he sat in Elena's old room with the recipe in his hand. He could not change their last conversation. But he could stop postponing Matthew. The next morning he helped his son measure flour, although the kitchen staff watched anxiously as their feared employer dropped an egg on the floor. Matthew laughed. The sound startled both of them.
The cake was lopsided and tasted slightly burnt. Matthew ate two bites. 'Mommy's was better,' he declared. Victor smiled through tears. 'Definitely.' The boy picked up another piece. 'But this one's ours.'
