Page 19 of Silent Echo

“Okay, but don’t you think you’ll have to tell him one day? Is that really fair to him?”

I grind my teeth and sigh. “Of course he knows he’s adopted. He wasn’t a baby when I got him. But we don’t talk about it anymore. We’re leaving the past in the past. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Okay, okay.”

I love my sister, but sometimes she can be so obtuse. We hang up, and I go to Sebastion’s room. I gently nudge his shoulder. “Wake up, sleepyhead. I have a surprise.”

He rubs his eyes and looks at me. “What?”

“We’re going to meet your Aunt Nora, Uncle Frank, and … three cousins!”

“I have cousins?”

“Yes, all boys: Mario, Phillip, and Anthony. Anthony is only a couple of years older than you are.”

“I don’t remember them.”

“You’re going to have so much fun. They have a built-in pool and a trampoline. Come on, go brush your teeth and wash up.”

He gets out of bed and goes into the bathroom. I rush to his closet and throw things into some suitcases.

When he comes out of the bathroom, I’ve already laid out a pair of shorts and a shirt for him.

He looks around the room and notices that his stuffed animals and the posters on the wall are gone.

“Where’s my stuff?”

“I packed it. We’re moving closer to my sister so we can be near family. About two hours away, in Stuart. You’re going to love it.”

“I don’t wanna move. What about my friends and my classes?”

Damn that Sofi. I hate to uproot him again, but there’s no way we can stay here. For all I know, Charlotte is already on her way here, and if she gets the authorities involved, it won’t be hard to track us down.

“I know, honey. It’s not easy to move. But you’ll make lots of new friends, and we’ll find a new homeschool group.”

He stomps his foot on the ground and crosses his arms. “No. I like it here.”

I think fast. The only thing I come up with is a way to appeal to the fear of the police I’ve instilled in him. “I do too, but the police are shutting down the homeschool classes because the school system is mad that we’re homeschooling. The police lied and said the mommies were stealing things. If we don’t leave, they’ll think we’re a part of it and arrest us too. They’ll put me in jail, and you’ll go to jail for little boys. We have to leave before they find us.”

“Oh no!” he says as he grabs my hand. “I’m scared.”

“It’s okay. I’ll always protect you, but we have to hurry and go now.”

He helps me as we grab the last of our things and put them in the car. I lock the door and leave the key under the mat. I hope we’ll have better luck in Stuart. If Charlotte discovers that he’s still alive, she’ll never stop until she finds him. She’ll paint me as a criminal. But I’m just a woman doing her best to protect the child that fate determined should belong to her. I can’t let Charlotte find us and take him back. He doesn’t belong to her anymore.

We get in the car and drive off. We’re almost to the end of the street when I notice a car pulling up to our house and parking. I press the gas and forge ahead.

PART THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY

It took everything Charlotte had to wait in her rental car while Agent Preston went inside the Sunshine Bookstore. After twenty minutes, the agent emerged, and Charlotte got out of the car and walked over to her.

“Charlotte! What did I say about coming here?”

“I couldn’t just sit at home. I was going crazy!”

“You have to stay out of my way. It’s for your own good. Why can’t you understand that—”

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