She would have been dead, and her daughter—the only daughter she had left—would have been raped and murdered as her sister had probably been.

Even though Ballencoa hadn’t given Lauren the satisfaction of the confession she had always wanted from him, there was something inside her that told her it was done. Leslie was gone. Lauren was glad for the drugs that would keep the worst of the pain of that at bay for a few more days.

She had seen herself in the mirror on the wall. She knew she was pale and battered. One eye was swollen nearly shut. A long gash sliced across one cheek from her temple to the corner of her mouth. Some miracle of modern medicine had glued the flaps of skin back together.

She was going to have scars, but none of the visible ones would be anything compared to what damage had been done to her emotionally over the course of the last four years. Nor would even those scars compare to what she felt for having put Leah through this hell.

Anne Leone had been there in the room when Lauren had finally come around. Lauren learned Anne had been there for Leah from the moment they had been brought into the ER.

“I told you you wouldn’t get rid of me,” Anne said quietly. “I’m here for both of you. Whenever you need me.”

Lauren fought tears. “We’re going to need you a lot,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper. “I’ve messed this up so badly. What I did—What I put her through—”

Anne pressed a finger to her lips and shook her head. “No. Something evil came into your lives, and you did the best you could.”

“That’s not saying much.”

“You’ll deal with your choices, Lauren. I’ll help you. But for now be glad you’re alive and be glad you have this incredible daughter,” Anne said, nodding toward Leah, who lay sleeping in the next bed. “She saved your life. Don’t waste it on regret. You get to start over—the two of you. That’s a gift. That’s what you have to focus on.”

She told Lauren to rest and slipped out of the room as Mendez and Tanner arrived.

Lauren looked up at the Santa Barbara detective. “Do you believe me now?” she asked.

“I always believed you, Lauren,” Tanner said quietly. “I just couldn’t do much about it. I’m sorry.”

“It’s done now,” Lauren said. “It’s done.”

“You’re sure you’re up to this now?” Mendez asked.

“I need to.”

Even though she was exhausted and breathless, she needed to confess the mistakes she had made and the terrible consequences of her choices. She needed to tell about the things Ballencoa and Hewitt had done in order to purge the evil of them from her soul.