“Joy?”
The name shattered Hadley’s frozen shell, bringing her back to life. Trembling with both hope and terror, she raised her head inch by inch until her eyes found the phone screen.
The precious face glowing from the screen unleashed a flood of tears that carved rivers down her cheeks before she could draw another breath. “Joy!”
The name fell from Hadley’s lips like a prayer as she lunged forward, seizing Colleen’s phone and clutching it in her hands, her hungry eyes consuming every pixel of her daughter’s image.
Yes—her precious Joy lived and breathed and smiled from this tiny screen!
“You…” Through the blur of tears, Hadley turned toward Colleen, her voice fracturing like glass under pressure. “How… how did you…”
Words weren’t needed—Colleen read the desperate gratitude written across Hadley’s tear-stained face.
From beyond the cold bars, Colleen spoke with gentle patience. “Finding her wasn’t difficult. The police kept records of where they placed her.”
“And Joy, is she…” Hadley’s eyes had swollen into crimson pools, while her lips quivered beyond her control.
“Don’t torment yourself with worry.” Moisture gathered in Colleen’s eyes as she offered comfort. “She’s currently safe with the children’s welfare agency. I’ve seen her myself and spoken with the officers about her care. I couldn’t bring her out since I’m not her legal guardian, which is why…”
Colleen’s knuckles gripped the iron bars as urgency sharpened her voice. “You must find your strength again—escaping this cage is the only path back to your daughter.”
“But I…” Fresh tears blazed trails down Hadley’s cheeks. How could someone like her possibly claw her way back to freedom? “I caused harm to the local people…”
And she remained at a disadvantage in this situation—a foreigner and a woman.
L?t?st chαpt?rs in glnovels.
“Fear has no place here.”
Colleen’s hand swept toward the lawyer waiting behind her shoulder. “Meet Daniel Calderon, your lawyer. He’ll champion your cause from beginning to end. What you did was self-defense—the fault lies with your attackers, not you. You will walk free!”
Lawyer?
Hadley’s gaze lifted, and for the first time in days, a spark of hope ignited in her lifeless eyes.
A local lawyer who understood these courts and these laws!
Emotion constricted Hadley’s throat while tears poured from her like an unstoppable spring. “Doctor Hayes, you’ve…”
Memory painted the scene in vivid colors—Colleen’s kindness from that terrible night.
That awful night when Colleen had tended her injuries with gentle hands, shared the bond of their common birthplace, and wrapped her shivering shoulders in a warm jacket.
And now Colleen had moved mountains to secure her legal representation.
.
.
.