It took several minutes before Lila found the strength to continue speaking.
Her breathing came slowly, unevenly.
“I was hungry,” she said quietly.
Adrian felt a chill run through him.
“What do you mean?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“The cabinets were locked again.”
The words felt unreal.
Locked?
“She said I wasn’t allowed to eat unless she said so,” Lila continued.
Adrian’s heart began pounding.
“I found a piece of bread on the floor yesterday,” she whispered. “I hid it under my bed for today.”
Her voice shook as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“She saw me.”
Adrian didn’t move.
He couldn’t.
“She said I was stealing,” Lila said. “She said bad kids needed to learn a lesson.”
The room felt colder with every word.
“She took me to the kitchen.”
Lila stopped speaking.
She didn’t need to finish the sentence.
Adrian looked again at the bandages covering her small hands.
Something inside him cracked.
“She said the hot water would wash the bad away,” Lila whispered. “And she said if I told you… you would leave me.”
Adrian leaned closer to her bed, his voice shaking but steady.
“I will never leave you.”
Lila looked at him carefully.
As if testing whether she could believe him.
“Never,” Adrian repeated.
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