Find me

Chapter 15

Henry POV

My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.

I was on edge after seeing the fuckers that took my daughter away from me, and seeing Miss Martinez’s stern face wasn’t helping me relax.

What happened? Was my daughter okay? Where was she?

"Where is my daughter?" I asked, panicking.

"A police officer is with her." Miss Martinez said calmly. "He is taking her DNA sample."

I looked at the door of the room she was in and took a deep breath.

"I want to see her.” Gabriel said, clenching his fists.

"You will, Mr. Sanders." Miss Martinez said. "I need to talk to your dad first."

"What’s wrong?" I asked nervously. "Is my daughter okay?"

Miss Martinez motioned toward the chairs in the hallway. I had to focus on moving my legs because I was so scared that I had a feeling I would fall.

Gabriel kept glancing toward the room she was in. I took his hand in mine, trying to be supportive, but honestly, I was the one who needed support.

We sat down, and I looked at Miss Martinez expectantly.

She looked around, making sure that they were alone. She looked back at me and took a deep breath.

"Aria is showing signs of abuse.” she said quietly, making my world stop spinning. "I can’t tell if the abuse was physical, but I am certain that it was verbal."

My heart was beating so hard that my chest hurt. I was sure it was going to break through my rib cage.

"She is speaking only when spoken to directly." Miss Martinez said. "She is not looking up unless she is told to. I’m guessing that these are the rules she learned to follow. Usually, there are consequences for not following the rules. I'm not sure what they were, but I am sure that there were consequences."

My vision blackened, and I was ready to kill.

If they hurt my daughter...

If they touched her…

"I am going to fucking kill them." Gabriel said, squeezing my hand so tightly that he almost broke some bones.

I tried to pull myself together a little. My son needed me.

I forced my arms to move, and I pulled him into a hug. He was so tense that I had a feeling I was hugging a column.

"It’s okay, bud." I said softly, trying to stop my voice from breaking. "She is safe now. She is coming home with us.”

"That is another thing I wanted to talk to you about." Miss Martinez said, making me look back at her. "I don’t have an issue with you taking her in. But she doesn’t want to go with you."

My heart shattered.

"What?!" Gabriel yelled. "Why?!"

I couldn’t react. I was frozen. My daughter didn’t want to go with me. Did she want to go back to the people who took her from me? Did she love them?

"She wouldn’t say." Miss Martinez said. "I believe that she is afraid."

"Let me talk to her." I forced myself to speak. "Please. I can’t let someone else take my child again."

Miss Martinez sighed and glanced at Gabriel.

"There is a really nice family who could take her in.” she said. "They are available, and they have experience with abused children."

"No." Gabriel said, and a little sob escaped him. "She is not going there. She is coming back home with me."

I tightened my arms around my son and looked at Miss Martinez pleadingly.

"Let me talk to her." I begged her again. "Please."

Miss Martinez sighed and looked at Gabriel again. She nodded, and Gabriel and I were on our feet in a second.

Miss Martinez took us back to the room my little girl was in. She opened the door, and I finally saw my daughter again.

The police officer was putting away the DNA kit. He looked up at us and gave us a small nod before leaving the room.

My daughter didn’t look up at us once.

"Aria." Gabriel said, running to her as soon as the police officer left.

He sat down on the chair next to her and reached out to her immediately. He pulled her into a hug, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. She didn’t look afraid of Gabriel.

Was she afraid of me?

My heart broke, and I had to stop myself from punching something.

I forced myself to remain calm as I walked to the table and sat down opposite my children.

"Hi, baby." I said softly.

I needed to stay calm. I needed to show her that I was different than those two fuckers. I needed her to trust me.

She tensed up and glanced up at me for a second. She immediately looked back down.

"Miss Martinez told me that you don’t want to go home with us." I said. "Why is that, love? Are you afraid of us?"

Gabriel visibly tensed up and tightened his arms around her.

"No." she answered quietly.

Relief washed over me, but it didn’t last for long.

Why was she afraid, then?

"What are you afraid of then, love?" I asked softly. "You can tell me anything. I won’t be angry at you, baby."

She looked up at me, and I almost sobbed. It was like looking at my Jo. She looked so much like my wife. She looked so much like her mom.

I gave her a small smile. I was so happy that she looked up at me without my asking for it. She must have trusted me if she was breaking some stupid fucking rules for me.

"What are you afraid of, Aria?" Gabriel asked her, rubbing her back softly.

She looked back down and took a deep breath.

"I’m not the girl you are looking for." she said quietly. "After a few days, I will have to go back to my parents."

I wanted to scream. Those fuckers weren’t her parents!

"You will never go back to them!" Gabriel panicked. "I will never let that happen! You are my sister. You are my twin. I can feel it and I know that you can feel it too.”

I had an idea, and I prayed to every deity I could think of that it was a good one.

I took the wallet out of my back pocket and opened it.

I found the picture of my wife, and the tears were hard to contain. She was the love of my life.

I pulled the picture out and placed it on the table. I pushed it toward Aria.

"Look, baby." I said softly, making her lift her head off of Gabriel’s shoulder. "This is your mom. You look so much like her, Aria. You are my child. I know it."

She looked down at the picture, and a small sob escaped her.

I stood up immediately. I rushed toward her. I needed to hold her. I needed to hold my child.

Surprisingly, Gabriel let her go so I could pull her into my arms.

I wrapped her up in a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. She was shaking hard.

"It’s okay, love." I said, my voice breaking. "It’s okay."

"Please come home with us." Gabriel begged her desperately. "I can’t lose you again, Aria. I can’t."

She sobbed again, and I placed another kiss on the top of her head.

She gave us a small nod, and relief washed over me like a fucking train.

"Thank you, baby." I said, picking her up in my arms.

I knew that she wasn’t a child anymore. But she was my child, and I never got to carry her around. I needed it. I needed to hold my child in my arms.

I instantly knew that something was very wrong. She was too fucking light for a 17-year-old girl. Did the fuckers starve her?!

I tightened my jaw and forced myself to remain calm. I would never forgive myself if I scared her.

I kissed the top of her head again and tightened my arms around her.

Nobody will ever hurt my baby again.

I will kill every fucker who tries to.