Marisa held her daughter's hands and looked into her eyes. "Listen to me, Ana. Nothing that happened was your fault. None of it. Aunt Leslie shouldn't have done what she did. This was her fault. And that man's fault. It wasn't yours."

Ana stood and climbed into Marisa's arms. Marisa stroked her slippery back and wept into her hair. "I'm sorry I didn't protect you better."

"I know you didn't want me to go with that man."

"I didn't. And from the second you were taken, I never stopped looking for you."

Ana backed up and looked into Marisa's eyes. "I knew you'd find me."

* * *

MARISA CONVINCED ANA to let her get out of the tub. After she traded her wet pajamas for dry ones, she returned to the bathroom with a cup snagged from the kitchen, washed Ana's hair, and rinsed the remains of the soap and dirty water from her skin.

With a towel wrapped around Ana, Marisa lifted her from the tub and was carrying her into the bedroom when she heard a quiet knock, then the sound of the key in the lock. The front door opened.

Marisa froze and stared toward the living room. She was about to search for a weapon when she heard the whispered words. "Marisa? Are you up?"

What was Sam doing there?

"It's okay." She patted her daughter on the back and walked to the living room, where Sam stood beside the sofa.

"I hope I didn't scare you. I thought I'd just sneak in, if you'd gone to sleep."

Marisa started to ask where Sam got the key before she remembered that Sam owned the cabin. "It's fine. We just got out of the tub. What are you doing here? It's"—Marisa looked at the clock glowing on the stove—"nearly three a.m."

"Brady called Rae to tell her the good news, and she called me. A few days ago, Rae and I bought some things we thought Ana might need. Clothes and pj's and stuff." Sam set a giant white plastic sack on the couch. "I didn't want to leave it sooner, because I thought... Well, it seemed wise to wait."

"I was just trying to figure out what I was going to put her in."

Sam dug through the bag and brought out a pair of blue pajamas with princesses on them. "Nate said her favorite color is blue."

Ana turned to look at the pajamas, which Sam held up for her inspection.

"Pretty."

"I'm glad you like them." She crossed the room slowly.

Ana squeezed her tighter.

"You must be Ana," Sam said. "We've been looking for you."

Marisa whispered in Ana's ear. "It's okay, pajarita. This is a friend of mine. She helped me find you. Her name is Sam."

Ana lifted her head slightly. "Sam is a boy's name. Like Sam, I Am."

Sam smiled and shifted to meet Ana's eyes over Marisa's shoulder. "That's right. But my name's really Samantha."

"That's pretty."