Chapter 4
A month after we arrived in Madrid, the kids started at their new school.
I walked them to the gate on their first day, my stomach tight with nerves.
Sophie grabbed my hand, her eyes wide.
“What if no one likes me?” she whispered.
I knelt down so I was eye level with her.
“Everyone will love you,” I said. “You’re the funniest, kindest girl I know. And if anyone’s mean to you, you just tell your teacher, okay?”
Leo puffed out his chest, putting an arm around his little sister.
“I’ll protect her,” he said. “No one’s gonna mess with us.”
I watched them walk into the schoolyard, Leo holding Sophie’s hand, until they disappeared around a corner.
I stood there for a long time after they were gone, tears pricking my eyes.
They were so brave.
Braver than I’d ever been.
That afternoon, I got a call from the school’s principal.
My heart dropped into my stomach.
Had something happened?
Had Julian found us?
“Mrs. Morales?” the principal said, her voice warm. “I just wanted to call and tell you how wonderful your children are. Sophie made three friends at recess already, and Leo scored two goals in his first PE soccer game. They’re fitting in perfectly.”
I cried after I hung up.
Happy tears, for the first time in years.
That weekend, we took the train to Toledo, an old city with cobblestone streets and a castle on a hill.
We climbed to the top of the castle, looking out over the red-tiled roofs spread out below us.
“Can we stay here forever?” Sophie asked, leaning against the stone wall.
I wrapped my arms around both of them.
“Forever,” I said.
Back home, the PI was closing in.
He’d tracked my credit card usage to a small bank in Madrid, then cross-referenced school enrollment records in the city.
Two weeks later, he sent Julian an email with a single attachment: a photo of me and the kids walking into Lila’s apartment building, our address printed clearly in the subject line.
Julian stared at the photo for an hour, his finger tracing Leo’s face on the screen.
He booked a flight to Madrid that night, buying a one-way ticket with the last of his savings.
He packed a small bag, shoving in a few changes of clothes and the crumpled photo of the kids he’d carried in his wallet for months.
He didn’t tell Vivian or Camila he was going.
He didn’t tell anyone.
He was going to get his kids.
And this time, he wasn’t leaving without them.
Three days later, he landed in Madrid.
He took a taxi straight to our apartment building, his hands shaking with adrenaline.
He waited across the street, hidden in the doorway of a bakery, for hours.
He watched the front door, his eyes never leaving it.
At four o’clock, the door opened.
I walked out, holding Sophie’s hand, Leo walking beside me, his soccer bag slung over his shoulder.
We were laughing about something Sophie had said at school.
Julian’s heart lurched.
They looked happy.
Happier than he’d ever seen them.
A cold rage bubbled up in his chest.
How dare I?
How dare I take his children and make a new life without him?
May you like
He stepped out of the doorway, crossing the street in three long strides.
He reached us before I even saw him coming.
