Aftermath

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

"I need to take her!" Meredith shouts over the alarms.

The other children are already tucked away in the saferoom. But they both know the boys aren't the ones the intruders are after, it's his daughter. His little girl. And that's the reason he's so conflicted.

Meredith is already shoving things in the bag, the baby secured tightly in her hold.

Moments like this made Vincenzo hate this line of work. These decisions he was forced to make. As he stood guard by the door, his gun ready to shoot should the guards inadvertently allow anyone by, he had to watch his wife pack up to take his only daughter.

And he cursed himself because he knew this was the only way. He could only pray that life would be kind enough to take pity on his sins and let him have this one blessing. Just this one.

Meredith stands up, watching him intently, her eyes hard and fiery as she held the stirring child in her arms. Those eyes he'd fallen in love with. His jaw was tense, and he looked out in the hallway, the red lights flashing and racked through his mind for any solution besides this one. But every solution led him back to this one. He shuts his eyes, exhaling before stepping aside, "Take her through the hidden door on the sub-level, take the black car back to level ground and leave through the back of the house. I'll contact you as soon as possible."

His wife, the mother of his 6 children, clutched their daughter tighter and nodded, she planted a firm kiss on her husband's lips before hurrying around him and down the narrow hallway. He decided against looking at his daughter's face one last time, he'd see her again soon, as soon as the premises were clear. For now he had to ensure the house and his sons were protected.

. . .

Meredith keeps her foot pressed on the pedal until she's deep on the back roads, surrounded in trees. She knew the area perfectly. This forest led straight over the city-line. As she began to see the lights of the city, she clutched her hand tightly around her phone. She was conflicted, despite knowing exactly what she had to do. She forced away any feeling as the phone erased and exhaled one last time before tossing it out of the open window.

She looks through the rearview mirror at her daughter in the back in her carseat and is reminded of why she's doing this. "I'm doing this for you, Bianca. Someday you'll forgive me."