“They would have questioned me, too. And when they questioned you, something bad happened.”

I nodded, and she didn’t pry further. For so long, I’d wanted nothing more than to be honest with her, even though lying meant keeping her safe. Now I had the honesty I wanted, but suddenly I wished we could stay hidden behind the deception. When protected by a wall of lies, it was easier to pretend the truth wasn’t lurking on the other side. Now the wall was down and the truth exposed. I couldn’t protect my sister from it any longer.

I gave one of her curls a light tug, the gesture that usually made her giggle and slap my hand away. This time, Zofia intertwined her arm with mine and rested her head on my shoulder.

* * *

With nothing for us to do but sit in a cell, the day crawled by, leaving me copious amounts of time to think. I sat in my corner, terrified Ebner would realize I’d fabricated my confession.

Movement angered my bruises, so I tried not to shift. I wondered what Irena had done when I missed the errand I should’ve run with her yesterday. It wasn’t like me to be late, much less miss resistance work. She’d probably stopped by our apartment and discovered everyone gone. When an entire family went missing, the conclusion was clear.

Dammit, Maria.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Mama turning toward me, but I didn’t acknowledge her. I couldn’t bear to look at my parents. Tata’s hair was haphazard, his brown tweed suit disheveled, his chin stubbled. Mama’s high cheekbones had lost their rosy glow, her black shirtwaist dress was wrinkled, and small runs traveled down each nylon stocking and disappeared into low slingback heels. But it wasn’t their appearances that shattered me. It was their eyes. They reflected a sadness that had never been there before. It wasn’t hopelessness, not yet, but close. And in my parents, that scared me most of all.

Footsteps echoed down the silent hall, and I scrambled to my feet when our cell door swung open, revealing Ebner and four guards.

Oh, God, he knows I lied, and now he’ll torture my family to make me tell the truth.

I wrapped my arms around my midsection as if I were back in the interrogation room, stripped to almost nothing, his eyes all over me. The tobacco smoke drifted from his breath and enveloped me . . .