Chapter 11 - The Safe House
We arrived at Elena’s sister’s house just as two local police cruisers pulled up. The officers secured the perimeter while we rushed inside. Elena’s two young daughters ran into her arms, crying but unharmed. Julian hadn't made it there.
Within an hour, we transported Elena, her sister, and the girls back to the Haven Ledger emergency safe house—a highly secure, undisclosed property we maintained specifically for high-risk extractions.
Once the children were asleep in the guest room, Elena sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at a mug of hot tea. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving her hollow and exhausted.
I sat across from her. The kitchen was quiet, the only sound the hum of the refrigerator. It reminded me of the kitchen where I had almost lost my life, but this room was filled with safety, not dread.
"I keep thinking I should have stayed," Elena whispered, a tear dropping into her tea. "Maybe if I just kept quiet, he wouldn't be so angry. Maybe I provoked him by leaving."
"That is exactly what he trained you to think," I said softly. "Dominic used to tell me that my silence was the only thing keeping the peace. If he hit me, it was because I 'made him do it.' He used the steak to burn my hand because I dared to ask a question about a missing invoice."
Elena looked up, her eyes filled with sorrow. "How did you survive the pain?"
"By realizing the pain was a tool," I replied. "They use physical and financial pain to convince you that you are helpless. But the night he burned me, I realized something. As the skin on my hand blistered, I looked at Dominic, and I saw his true face. He wasn't a god. He wasn't untouchable. He was a pathetic, terrified little man who had to resort to violence because he knew I was smarter than him."
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I leaned forward, locking eyes with her. "Julian is the exact same. He is terrified of you, Elena. He is terrified because you hold the truth. Tomorrow, we hand that truth over to the FBI. Your nightmare ends tomorrow."
Elena took a deep breath, her shoulders finally dropping. She reached out and squeezed my scarred hand. "Thank you, Anna. Thank you for not letting me go back to the dark."
