Fear surged through my veins, a torrent of adrenaline and disbelief. How could they have planned something so sinister, something so perfectly timed to erase an innocent soul from existence? My mind raced with the implications. They had declared her dead, a chilling premonition turned paperwork reality. But Mia was alive, her fragile body shivering in my arms, fighting desperately to cling to the life they had so callously deemed expendable.
“Mia, listen to me,” I said, my voice steady despite the storm brewing within. “You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you understand?”
Her eyes, wide and innocent, brimmed with tears. Slowly, she nodded, the trust in her gaze both humbling and galvanizing. I buckled her into the backseat, wrapping the car blanket around her shivering form, and dialed the only person I could trust.
