Then—movement. A shuffling. A whisper.
Three small faces peeked out from behind a row of old pews.
Her heart clenched.
“There you are,” she breathed, stepping forward.
Eli stepped out first, chin lifted in a brave wobble. Maisie clung to his sleeve, eyes huge. Benji lagged half a step behind, trying to look tougher than he probably felt. Eventually, the other three children popped up from between the pews also.
“We’re sorry,” Eli blurted. “We didn’t mean to make you freak out.”
“We thought you’d be mad,” Clara whispered.
Amayah knelt, her gloves brushing the cold stone. “I’m not mad. I was worried. So worried. Why did you run?”
The three oldest children exchanged looks. A silent debate.
Finally, Eli raised his trembling chin. “You’re going to send us away, aren’t you?”
“No, sweetie,” Amayah murmured. “That’s not my goal. I only want to help.”
His eyes narrowed. “Help by splitting us up. By calling the cops.”
“I’m not going to lie to you,” she told him. “There are certain legalities in place that I have to abide by. I can’t just let you keep living there with no food and no heat. But I’m not going to leave you either. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Mommy didn’t come back,” Ruby whispered, tears filling her eyes. “We don’t know where she is.”
A chill rippled through Amayah—not from the cold of the building, but from the enormity of what they’d been carrying. Alone. In silence.
“I know, sweetie,” Amayah whispered. “And I’m so sorry.”
Eli wiped his face roughly with the sleeve of his coat. “Do you think she’s okay?”
She heard the fear in his voice, raw and sharp.
Amayah felt it like a weight in her own chest.
How did she answer that?
“Now that we know she’s missing, we can look for her,” Luke said.
“What now? Are you gonna call them?” Clara’s voice trembled as she stared up at them. “The police?”
Amayah hesitated, throat tightening. The question hung in the air like a plea.
Behind her, Luke stepped closer. She met his eyes.
Both knowing the truth.
Both knowing what had to be done.
Amayah opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She couldn’t bring herself to say the words that she knew would break these kids’ hearts.
Before she could speak, Luke stepped forward. “I have an idea.”
Luke cleared his throat before starting. “Because of my job as a reporter, I have a lot of connections in the city. Most of them are good people, the kind who’d want to help families stay together. I can try to pull some strings, talk to the right department, make sure you don’t get separated while they figure out what happened with your mom.”
Eli’s eyes widened. “You . . . you can do that?”
