CHAPTER 3 — THE TRUTH HE HAD BEEN RUNNING FROM
CHAPTER 3 — THE TRUTH HE HAD BEEN RUNNING FROM
Detective Maria Alvarez arrived within minutes.
She crouched beside the boy.
"My name is Maria."
"What's yours?"
The boy hesitated.
Then whispered,
"Noah."
"How old are you, Noah?"
"I think... thirteen."
Sarah frowned.
"You think?"
Noah lowered his eyes.
"I stopped celebrating birthdays."
The detective noticed the words still written on his arm.
RETURN HIM TONIGHT.
"Who wrote that?"
Noah's entire body stiffened.
"The man who said I belonged to him."
A chill spread through the room.
Slowly, Noah revealed the truth.
Months earlier, he had run away from a house where he and several other children had been forced to beg for money every day.
If they returned with too little...
They were beaten.
The bruises.
The scars.
The fear.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Three weeks earlier, while hiding in an alley near the intersection, Noah had seen Ethan step into traffic.
Without thinking, he ran.
He pushed Ethan away...
...and disappeared before anyone could ask his name.
"I didn't save him because I wanted a reward," Noah whispered.
"I just couldn't watch another kid get hurt."
Sarah wiped away her tears.
"You saved my son."
May you like
Ethan reached over and took Noah's shaking hand.
"And now we're going to save you."
