Chapter 107

Lake POV

Ollie’s eyes snapped open with a gasp, his whole body jerking like he’d been electrocuted. For a moment, he just stared at the ceiling of the van, confused and disoriented, his chest rising and falling too fast. Then his eyes found me, and I saw the exact moment awareness crashed over him.

“Mama?” His voice was small and terrified, nothing like the confident boy who’d been holding Julian’s hand in the gardens.

“Mama, where are we? Where’s Mr. Hoppy? I want Mr. Hoppy!”

“Shh, baby, it’s okay,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm even though my heart was racing. I couldn’t move toward him with my hands tied, couldn’t pull him close and shield him from Samuel’s presence. All I could do was speak, try to soothe him with words alone. “Mr. Hoppy is... he’s safe. He’s back at Grandma Elena’s house. We’ll get him back soon.”

“Why are we in a van?” Ollie was sitting up now, his eyes darting around the confined space, taking in Samuel sitting too