Page 10 of Hidden

“You know before she was forced out, my mother worked for the FBI. You also know what she did. Her job broke her. Even after that, she’d still be asked to go back in the field for special missions. She was on high-class assignment ten years ago.” Her face grew more determined as she spoke. Each word chipped away at my fury. My entire being was focusing on this.

There was no way that she was insinuating…

“Wheredo you think my parents found her?” Hanah finished. “My mother is a disaster with children. She never even wanted me. Why do you think they adopted Bianca in the first place?”

My heart stopped. I understood what she was saying. But my mind screamed in denial. I couldn’t accept this.

Everyone faded from around me, and I fell back into my seat. I couldn’t look away from Hanah’s eyes. This had to be a terrible joke.

“She was eight,” I heard myself say, as if her age would change anything.

“Technically, she wasn’t eight yet,” Hanah said. “And before my parents found her, she had lived two other places. We don’t know much. It’s impossible to get her to talk about what happened.”

Of course she wouldn’t want to talk about it.

My heartbeat echoed in my ears. I was so stupid—I had known that something was wrong.

We felt an attachment toward her from the moment we’d met. It had been familiar, our normal. The feeling made sense after we knew who she was. And while she would allow us to hug her or hold her, she’d been uncomfortable with anything more.

Her reactions had been worrisome. Out of all of us, Mu was the most affectionate.

We’d known something was off. Damen and I had gone over this and assumed that her anxiety stemmed from abuse. Sexual trauma wasn’t unheard of, of course, but we hoped that wasn’t the case with Bianca. She did allow us to touch her, after all.

We’d hoped it meant she was spared that pain.

But we were wrong, and in the worst possible way. Because Abigail Geier’s department specialized in child trafficking.

“Where did they find her?” Damen’s voice sounded odd, detached almost, and he continued to lean over the table. His shoulders were tight with strain.

“It doesn’t matter.” Hanah sighed. “It was abandoned shortly after they left. They never found the culprit. They kept looking, but Bianca never said anything that would help officials locate him—”

“It wasn’t her responsibility to tell the investigators how to do their job.” Miles tone was venomous. “They immediately questioned a seven-year-old victim? Did they even give her a chance to see a therapist?”

It couldn’t be true. They couldn’t be that cruel.

“My mother.” This must be how she got involved. “Did Abigail take Bianca to see her? Is that why she’s still her patient?”

“Yes…” Hanah’s voice wavered. “Bianca was terrified of her abilities. Anytime she talked about spirits, she would panic. That’s one of the reasons why Dr. Kohler put her on suppressants. The theory was that she’d learn to live normally, she’d learn to not be afraid. Then they would reintroduce the paranormal back into her life.”

“You didn’t agree?” Miles had also picked up on her sneer.

“No, I didn’t agree. I never thought lying was right. They wanted her to be normal, but Bianca wasnevergoing to be normal. You can’t fix what happened, you can only move past it.” Hanah’s voice was sharp. “I couldn’t stand seeing it. Why do you think I left? And Finn—”

My eyes snapped to the blond man. His head rested in his hands, his elbows braced on the table.

Damen began to quiver—he was about to lose it, and Titus still hadn’t moved. This did not bode well.

“Finn what?” I asked, almost not wanting the answer.

“He’s overprotective,” Hanah said. “None of us know how to act around her. She’s not getting any better, mentally. She refuses to talk in therapy. When you force it, she shuts down. He worries he—”

Finn cut her off. “She’s not ready to be out yet. The courts are a dangerous place, even for the most worldly of fae. And you never know what might trigger one of her attacks. Sometimes it’s seeing an act of violence. Other times it’s herresearch. You all know that the worst of the world is easily seen on the internet.”

Hanah turned to Finn in shock. “You’re still restricting her searches? You told Kayla you would stop!”

“You have no idea what it’s like! She wouldn’t talk for a day because she accidently came across werewolf erotica!” Finn narrowed his eyes. “What else am I supposed to do? Somehow, I missed that one. Thankfully, it was yaoi, so she wasn’t traumatized.”

“I think you’re underestimating her.” Hanah crossed her arms. “Did you even try to talk to her to see if she was upset? Or were you assuming again? Jiayi says she’s quiet when she’s imagining something.”