Chapter 9 - Why nobody told me
I asked Mara:
“Why didn’t she call me?”
Mara answered:
“Because she believed someone close to the family had leaked her cooperation.”
“Me?”
“She did not know.”
I felt that physically.
“Did she think I would hurt her?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“She believed if she contacted you, others would watch you.”
That made sense.
I hated that it made sense.
Then:
“She also knew you would search.”
“Yes.”
“And searching loudly could get her killed.”
Also true.
Mara continued:
“She entered emergency protective relocation while we investigated who knew she survived.”
Not full permanent witness protection immediately.
Temporary secure relocation.
New medical facility.
Restricted communication.
Then Clara.
Alessandra’s pregnancy complicated everything.
She delivered early.
Medical emergency.
Afterward she made the decision to send Clara to me.
Why?
Because keeping an infant hidden indefinitely created new risks.
And because despite everything:
May you like
She trusted me with our daughter.
That sentence nearly broke me.
