Chapter 3 - The Red Folder
The officers got Dad away from my door, but I didn't unlock it until a female officer in a navy uniform said my name.
"I'm Deputy Alvarez," she told me through the wood. "Your mom is being checked by paramedics. She asked me to tell you she's alive and wants to see you."
I opened the door a few inches. The deputy didn't reach for me or ask me to calm down. She simply waited until I could breathe again.
Downstairs, Dad sat on the sofa with his hands visible. He looked less like a monster now and more like a man who had been caught without a script.
Mom sat at the dining table, wrapped in a blanket. One cheek was swollen, and her fingers shook around a paper cup of water. When she saw me, she held out both arms.
I ran to her.
"I'm sorry," I cried into her shoulder. "I should have done something."
"You did exactly what you were supposed to do," she whispered. "You called for help."
Arthur entered with two officers. Up close, he looked older than in the photograph, but his eyes were sharp. He stopped a few feet away, giving Mom room to choose whether he could approach.
"Sarah," he said. "I'm sorry it took this long."
Mom nodded, but she didn't smile. "You found us."
"I never stopped looking."
Dad let out a short laugh. "This is a family matter. You don't get to walk in here like a hero."
Arthur turned toward him. "You were told not to contact them."
"I live here."
"You found their protected address."
The words made the room go still.
I looked at Mom. "Protected address?"
She closed her eyes. Arthur took a red folder from inside his coat and set it on the table.
"Emily deserves the truth," he said. "But first, the officers need to know whether Daniel has access to the documents he was ordered to surrender."
Dad's face changed when he saw the folder.
May you like
"Where did you get that?" he demanded.
Arthur didn't answer. He opened it to the first page, and I saw Mom's name beside a stamp that read WITNESS PROTECTION.
