“Mateo, listen carefully,” Pa says. “There’s some money hidden away in the office. There’s a safe in the bottom drawer of the desk. The combination is the last two digits of your birth year, followed by the last two digits of Sophie’s. You got that?”

“Y-yes,” I say. “Got it.”

“Good. Use that money for emergencies. And if you need anything—anything at all—go to your uncle Jorge. He’s there for you. He promised me he would be.”

“Okay, Pa.”

“I have to go, but I’ll get in touch as soon as I can. And if you talk to your mother, tell her I love her.”

A knot appears in my throat. From the corner of my eye, I notice that Sophie has started crying. “Papi, no! Don’t go yet.”

“I have to, mi amor,” he says. “Listen to your brother. Be good, okay?”

Sophie doesn’t answer. She wipes away her tears, but more come.

“We’re gonna find a way,” Pa says right before he hangs up. “We’ve always found a way. I love you.”

When my phone rings again on Sunday morning, my heart stops just as it did yesterday. I answer, click one when a recording asks me if I want to accept the call, and this time, it’s Ma’s voice coming through the phone.

“Mateo?” she says. “Mateo, is that you?”

“Sí, Ma. Soy yo.”

She lets out a long exhale, and it almost sounds as if she’s in pain. “¿Cómo están? ¿Están bien? ¿Dónde está Sophie?”

Before I can even think about answering all her questions, I pull the phone away from my ear. “Sophie!” I yell, running out of my room. “Sophie, it’s Ma!”

She comes crashing out of her own room. We stand in the middle of the apartment, both of us shaking a little, as I hold out the phone in front of us.

“Mami!”

“Sophie,” Ma says. “Mi niña, are you okay?”

“No, Ma,” Sophie answers, which brings an added load to the weight in my stomach. “We miss you. Where are you?”

“I’m in Buffalo. Have you talked to your dad? How is he?”

“He called yesterday. He’s in New Jersey,” I say. “Ma, how did they even find you?”

“I… I’m not sure, mijo.” She swallows so loudly that I can hear it through the phone. “I’d just gotten home from work, and suddenly someone knocked on the door.”

“You shouldn’t have opened. Did you at least look to see who it was?”

“I did, but there was no one in the hallway. But then someone yelled out saying it was the police, so I thought I had to open. And when I did, they were there—three ICE agents.”