CharlesDr Fernandez said to check on her frequently. Although I trust Martha, I still have an obligation to fulfill.I didn’t open the door immediately.My hand rested on the handle longer than it should have, and I found myself staring at the wood like it might tell me what I was about to walk into.Five years.Five years of searching, paying people, threatening people, chasing rumors that always led nowhere.And now, she was in the room behind that door.Part of me still didn’t fully believe it.I pushed the door open slowly.The room was quiet … not the peaceful kind of quiet either, but the heavy kind.I stepped inside and that’s when I saw her.She was sitting on the bed.Not lying down. Not half-awake.She was just sitting there like she hadn’t moved all night.For a second, I just stood there watching her. “You’re awake,” I said.She didn’t react right away. Then slowly, she turned her head toward me.Her eyes met mine, and something in my chest tightened a little.I walked fu
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