Chapter 3 - Into the ColdThe night air was crisp and biting as James exited the estate, the heavy oak doors sealing away the toxic world he had just renounced. He gently placed Annie into the backseat of his SUV, buckling her in with trembling hands.
"Are you mad at me, Daddy?" Annie asked, her voice barely a whisper. She looked down at the crumpled piece of dinner roll she still clutched in her hand. "Grandma said you were mad we came back."
James felt a fresh wave of tears prick his eyes. He knelt on the asphalt so he was eye-level with his daughter. He gently took the bread from her hand, tossing it aside, and took her small, cold hands in his own.
"Annie, look at me," he said, his voice thick with emotion. She cautiously lifted her gaze. "I love you. I love you and your mother more than anything in this entire world. I never wanted you to leave. Grandma... Grandma told a very bad lie."
Annie blinked, a glimmer of hope cutting through the exhaustion in her eyes. "You still love Mommy?"
"With all my heart," James promised. "How did you find me tonight, sweetheart? Where is Mom?"
Annie sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "We've been staying at a shelter. Mommy works a lot, cleaning floors. She got really sick yesterday and couldn't wake up. The lady at the shelter called an ambulance. I got scared. I remembered the address of the big house from when Grandma yelled at us, so I took a bus. I just wanted to ask if you could help Mommy."
Panic, cold and sharp, pierced James's chest. Catherine was sick. In a hospital. Alone and believing he hated her.
"You did the right thing, my brave girl," James said, kissing her forehead before closing the door.
He climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine, the roar of the vehicle breaking the stillness of the night. He pulled out his phone, dialing his attorney.
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"Arthur," James said the moment the line connected. "Call every hospital in the metropolitan area. Catherine was taken in by an ambulance yesterday. Find her. I don't care what it costs."
He put the car in gear and sped away from the estate, leaving his old life behind in the rearview mirror.
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