The woman – Liz, he’d called her – walked a few steps toward Addie. ‘Are you Addie and Zoey?’

‘Yes. I’m Addie and that’s Zoey,’ Addie lifted her hand in Zoey’s direction. But it dropped halfway up, too weak.

Liz closed the gap to Addie and gently touched her arm, ‘I’m Liz, I’m here to help. Are you hurt?’

Addie fell into Liz’s embrace and sobbed. When she opened her eyes, she saw Zoey behind them, a smile on her face.

‘Are you real?’ Zoey asked. Liz turned her head in Zoey’s direction and nodded vigorously in response. ‘Addie, we’re rescued. We’re rescued,’ Zoey repeated, her voice cracking. ‘We did it.’ The words seemed to take everything out of her.

Addie released Liz and pulled Zoey into a triumphant hug. Behind them Liz picked up the keys and tried them in the locks on their shackles, starting with Addie’s. When the smallest key slid in and turned, the shackles released, and Addie felt them fall away from her ankles. Then Liz scooched closer to Zoey’s feet. Addie heaved with dry sobs, trembling as the weight of her imprisonment was lifted. A world of possibilities lay ahead of her that just moments ago had seemed out of reach forever. The click of Liz unlocking Zoey’s shackles brought her back to reality and she eagerly clasped Zoey’s bony hand. The two women walked toward the front door, away from the dark shadows of certain death and toward the last rays of fading sunlight.

CHAPTER 29

I propped myself up on the bed, pushing away the morning haze as I scrolled mindlessly through emails on my phone. After the enormity of what I had experienced just four days ago, I was relieved my boss understood that I needed some time off. I couldn’t imagine going straight back to work after seeing firsthand what those poor women were subjected to by my own grandfather. It seemed likely, since the women hadn’t recognized Cris, that Frank was the sole perpetrator, but it was hard to completely shift my thinking once again. Had Cris known what Frank was up to? Could he have been working behind the scenes to help in some way? I didn’t know.