Chapter 32 - The Midnight Call
We had been operational for three weeks when the emergency hotline rang at 2:00 AM.
I was on the night shift, sitting in the office with a cup of black coffee. I picked up the receiver immediately.
"The White Line, this is Valeria," I answered gently.
There was heavy breathing on the other end, followed by a muffled, terrified sob. "Please," a woman’s voice whispered. "He is asleep. He took my phone, but I found his. If I stay here tonight, he is going to kill me. Please help me."
My blood ran cold, but my training kicked in.
"I believe you, and I am going to help you," I said firmly. "What is your name, and where are you?"
"Isabella," she cried. She gave me an address on the north side of the city.
"Isabella, I am sending a secure car to you right now. Get outside, hide in the shadows near the corner of your street, and do not hang up this phone until you see a black sedan with the license plate ending in 42."
I signaled to Carlos, our overnight security driver, handing him the address slip. He nodded and ran out the back door.
I stayed on the phone with Isabella for twenty agonizing minutes, talking her through a panic attack in the dark. When Carlos finally picked her up, she collapsed in the backseat.
When she arrived at the shelter, she was trembling, sporting a bruised cheek and a torn shirt. I wrapped a warm blanket around her shoulders and guided her to the kitchen for hot tea.
May you like
She looked around the bright, secure room, then looked at me, tears streaming down her face. "Am I safe here?"
"You are completely safe," I promised, holding her trembling hands in mine. "The locks are heavy, and the monsters cannot get in."
