"I shouldn't have asked you to come here with me," he says. "I'm so sorry, Grace. We'll leave immediately."
I shake my head, but I don't tell him that I just saw a child here. It's what we expected to find, but seeing that young girl here made it all the more real.
I take a deep breath. I need to pull myself together.
"I'm okay," I tell him. "I can stay."
"Why are you crying?" he asks, wiping the last of my tears from my cheeks. He still looks concerned.
"It just hit me that this is all real. All of the evil is real," I say. "I'm sorry. I know it sounds stupid."
“It’s not stupid,” he says. “You’re just too sweet for this wretched world.”
He holds me until my heart stops hurting.
"It's almost four in the morning,” he says. "Are you sure you want to stay until closing time?"
I take a deep breath. “Yes, but I want a moment alone.”
Reluctantly, he steps outside. I stare at myself in the mirror. My cheeks are splotchy, and my eyes are red from crying.
Pathetic. Undesirable. Ugly.
My mother's voice never left, but it's weaker now. Almost a whisper that I can drown out. Instead, I'm starting to see myself the way Dante sees me.
Strong. Beautiful. Brave.
All the things I wanted to be. Dante made me realize that it was always inside me. I was just listening to the wrong voice.
I make a silent vow to myself.
I will never let anyone tell me my worth ever again. I will never be weak again.
When I step back outside, Dante doesn’t even turn to look at me. He’s still as a statue.
And I know.
They found her.
Hope fills my being like a bolt of lightning. I rush to his side. He looks up from his phone.
“Where is she?” I ask.
He takes a deep, shuddering breath. He can’t bring himself to even say a word.
I wrap my arms around him in a hug. His heart is beating like a drum against my ear. I kiss his chest. I’m about to pull away, but he cups the back of my head, holding me close to him.
My heart fractures for this man.
When I glance up at him, I see so much pain and hope in his eyes.
“It’s going to be okay,” I reassure him. “Let’s go see her.”
He nods and leads me back to the main hall—the one with the strippers and cages. I spot Nico and my sisters in the crowd.
Nico glances up at one of the cages. It's about forty feet off the ground on the far left. We already looked at all the girls in the cages before, but they must have changed shifts. I can’t make out their faces now because the spotlight keeps moving.
"We should probably sit down," I suggest, glancing at the nearest couch.
