"Tell her," Chelsea demands.
Willow looks between us.
I don’t know how to get the words out without my heart shattering into a million pieces. Is this what it’s like to have your world come crashing down around you? I think about the books I write and how the good guy always wins, but I don't see a victory in this. No matter what happens, I lose Willow today.
"I just want you to know that I love you, baby. I always have and always will. What I'm about to say doesn't change anything." The tears slip down my face.
“She told me, Mom. Said you’re not my real mother, that you made her believe I was dead. Is that true?”
“I didn’t know any of this until a few days ago. I’m sorry. To you and Chelsea. Nobody deserves that.”
“You lying bitch.” She jabs the back of the gun between my shoulder blades.
"Stop it." Willow yells. "Don't you get it? You will never be my mother, Chelsea. Not after all this. I could never love you," she hisses. "She is my mother.”
“Willow. She didn’t know either. We were both fooled.” I want to tell her everything but now is not the time.
Chelsea grips my shoulder painfully. “I don’t need you defending me. You can feed her all the lies you want, but it isn’t going to change my mind. This ends here,” she growls.
She cocks the gun and points it to my temple. I look at the child I love more than myself. The child who brought so much sunshine to my world. I mouth,I love you, as the cold metal digs into me.
“No, Chelsea. Don’t,” Willow pleads, tugging on her cuffs. Fear paralyzes me at the thought of what she will do with my daughter. Willow says something, but it's an echo so far away I wonder if she said anything at all. Tears fall down her cheeks like a waterfall.
Chelsea’s hands wrap around my neck. I can’t think anymore. I can’t breathe. All I feel is the metal, all I see is the fear in my child’s gaze. I close my eyes, tears slipping free, and I wait for the sound that'll be my end. I wait for the pain, the numbness. The sound comes, but it's not as painful as I thought it would be. I feel the ground beneath me, and blackness takes me. I regret nothing.
* * *
"Mom."Her voice is far away. I wonder if this is that place between heaven and hell. "Mom, can you hear me?"
I open my eyes, and Willow's worried gaze locks on mine. I gasp when I realize that she's right in front of me. Her curls wild, her face streaked with tears. She is so beautiful. My hands fly up and around her. I squeeze her so hard she yelps. When I open my eyes again, my hands drop. Because standing behind, my daughter is… "Who are you?"
Green eyes that match my own stare back at me. Wild auburn hair is in a ponytail. “Anna,” she says.
Her voice is just like my mother's. How is this even possible? Blood coats her shirt, and the gun quivers in her hand. I look at the woman at her feet. Chelsea stares up at Anna, her eyes are vacant, lifeless.
“Is she…?” I don’t dare say the words. Willow holds my hand in hers and gives it a squeeze. How is it even possible that we made it through that?
Anna nods.
“You saved me?”
“I had to.”
The door bursts open, and police flood in. "Sin, oh my god." Creed rushes to me, dropping to his knees and gathering me in his arms. He’s comforting. He lets me go and hugs Willow. “Good to see you, young lady.”
"I guess I missed a lot," Willow says, looking between us.
Creed looks over to where cops are cuffing Anna. He frowns. “Who is she?”
“I have no idea, but she saved my life.”
I watch her being led away. She only looks back at me once and then proceeds.
I hold onto Willow, scared that she'll disappear again. "I love you, baby girl.”
"I love you more, Mama." I kiss the top of her head, and we walk out of the room I believed was the last place I would ever see her. Willow is exhausted and confused, but we agree that it is a story for another day.
Outside, two other choppers await. Anna is being led to one of them. I let go of Willow's hand and walk toward her.
