Chapter 14 - The Long Road to the Light
Forty-eight hours had passed since Julian administered the high-dose intravenous counter-agents to Lila at our private medical pavilion.
The mansion was completely cleansed. Every trace of Elena Vance had been systematically erased—her clothes burned, her photographs discarded, her presence wiped from the history of the Moretti family.
I sat beside Lila’s hospital bed in our private medical wing, holding her tiny, warm hand in mine. Leo sat on the opposite side of the bed, quietly coloring a picture of a superhero with a set of crayons I had bought him.
Leo had been given clean clothes, a full medical checkup, and his own private bedroom in the guest wing of the estate. He had barely left Lila’s side since she was admitted.
Julian walked into the room, holding a penlight. “Vincent, the organophosphate blockade in her optic pathways has broken down completely. The chemical toxicity is ninety-nine percent cleared from her bloodstream.”
My heart hammered against my ribs with more anxiety than I had ever felt in any gunfight. “Is she going to see, Julian?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Julian smiled gently. “Lila, sweetie? Can you open your eyes for me?”
Lila stirred softly. She fluttered her long eyelashes, slowly opening her brown eyes.
For a few terrifying seconds, her gaze remained unfocused, staring up at the white ceiling.
“Lila?” I whispered, my voice cracking with emotion. “Can you hear me, baby?”
Lila blinked once. Twice.
Then, her eyes slowly shifted across the room, locking directly onto my face.
A small, beautiful smile began to spread across her lips.
“Daddy?” she whispered softly.
Tears welled up in my eyes, spilling over my cheeks for the first time in twenty years. “Yes, baby. It’s Daddy.”
“You have a funny scratch on your chin,” Lila giggled, reaching her small hand up and touching my jawline. “And... and your shirt is blue!”
A collective sigh of overwhelming joy filled the entire room. Julian wiped a tear from his own eye, nodding in victory.
Lila then turned her head toward the other side of the bed, looking at the boy sitting beside her. “Who are you?”
Leo smiled shyly, wiping his nose. “I’m Leo.”
Lila reached out and took Leo’s hand. “Thank you for helping my Daddy find me, Leo.”
May you like
Leo’s eyes shone with pride and tears. “You’re welcome, Lila.”
I looked at the two children holding hands, and for the first time in six agonizing months, the crushing weight on my chest vanished completely. The darkness had been broken.
