Page 40

The phone rings once. Twice.
Then—
“Hello?”
The moment I hear her voice, everything inside me shatters.
A sob wrenches from my throat before I can stop it, and suddenly I can’t breathe. Tears blur my vision, spilling down my cheeks as I clutch the phone like it’s the only thing keeping me from falling apart.
“Hello?” My mother’s voice sharpens, confused. “Lila? Sweetheart, is that you?”
I cover my mouth, trying to stifle the sobs, but it’s useless. I’m crying so hard my shoulders shake, my body curling in on itself as I press the phone tighter against my ear.
“Lila?” she repeats, her voice rising in concern. “What’s wrong? Where are you? Baby, talk to me!”
I try to speak, but my throat is too tight, my words tangled in the sobs wracking my chest.
I hear rustling on the other end, and then my mother’s voice turns frantic. “Lila, sweetheart, please! Are you safe? Are you hurt?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing myself to take a deep breath, but the words still come out broken. “M-Mom…”
“Oh my God,” she breathes. “I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks! Your father said—he said you were safe, but he wouldn’t tell me where you were. I’ve been losing my mind, Lila. What’s going on?”
“I—I don’t know,” I whisper, my voice hoarse. “I just—I miss you.”
“Oh, baby,” she says, her voice cracking. “I miss you too. Tell me where you are, I’ll come get you. Just tell me where.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my forehead against my knee. “I can’t.”
“What do you mean you can’t?” she demands, frustration and worry thick in her voice. “Lila, tell me what’s happening. Did your father do this?”
I hesitate. I don’t want to lie to her, but I also don’t want to tell her the truth—because what would that accomplish? She can’t save me from this.
“I don’t know what to do, Mom,” I whisper.
Her voice softens instantly. “Oh, sweetheart.” There’s a pause, and when she speaks again, it’s more determined. “Tell me, Lila. Are you safe?”
I hesitate, my fingers tightening around the phone.Safe?I don’t know anymore.
“I—” My voice catches, and I shake my head. “I think so.”
“Lila,” she says firmly. “Are you with someone?”
I bite my lip. “Yes.”
“Who?”
I hesitate, staring at the bedroom door as if Mikhail might walk back in at any second. My chest tightens.
“My husband.”
The words taste foreign on my tongue, and the silence on the other end of the line stretches so long that I think she’s hung up.
Then—
“What?”
I flinch at the sheer disbelief in her voice.