Chapter 114

“What about the little girl?” Sarah asks, as though reading my mind. I had briefly told her, via text and the odd call, about Sophie when all that happened.

“She’s doing well. She’s going through the process of being awarded a protection order, so she can stay with her new family without fear of being returned home. Her father will be prosecuted. She’s in counseling,” I sigh at Sarah. I have been keeping tabs on Sophie through Leila, Jake’s mother, and Sophie herself by email. Jake told me his brother seems to have taken her under his protective wing, and she trusts him, which is a good sign.

That damned Carrero charm.

“You did for her what someone should have done for you, Ems.” Sarah is so direct and spot-on that I inhale lightly. I snap my eyes to hers. I want to deny it, brush it off like old Emma would return to cold and controlled ‘no one hurts me’ mode, but I don’t. I bite my lip, push away the force of emotion, and nod painfully.

“I know.” It sounds s