The Silent Child Series by Sarah A. Denzil

Author:Sarah A. Denzil
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sarah Dalton
Published: 2022-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Stolen Girl

EBOOK EDITION

Copyright © 2020 Sarah A. Denzil

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work, in whole or in part, in any form.

This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, organizations and products depicted herein are either a product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.

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Chapter One

EMMA

Even though September is here, the trees are still verdant green. We’re all dressed in light clothing for the unseasonably warm weather, bare arms caressed by a calm breeze filtering through the trees. I can’t deny that it’s a beautiful day today, but inside my ribcage my heart is tapping away, quick as fluttering moth wings. Anticipation makes my skin prickle. I glance at the man to my right, who still seems like a boy; who stares out beyond with an inscrutable expression. He doesn’t like to be touched but I slip my fingers into his and squeeze them, hoping those squeezes will convey my thoughts: You’re not alone. I’m here with you. I’ll keep you safe. This is almost over.

They built us a platform so that we wouldn’t miss a single moment, and I feel strangely tall standing here in the woods, as though I’m on stilts. Below us there’s a clearing surrounded by a metal fence, which seems out of place among the dark branches and lush foliage of the forest. But the fence marks out the location of the place we need to watch. I take it all in one final time as I breathe deeply to steady my heart.

On my left, there’s a soft, sticky little hand in mine.

‘Will it be loud?’ says a small voice.

I glance down at my daughter, the owner of the tiny hand. ‘It might be. Would you like some ear plugs?’

Gina grins. ‘No, I want it to be loud.’

She’s been looking forward to this for weeks. I, on the other hand, have been dreading it. And as for Aiden, well, I don’t know how he feels, I can’t even imagine, and when I ask, he gives me a shrug in return.

I turn my head to my son. ‘Would you like them?’

He shakes his head. His body is rigid, his hand sweaty in mine. ‘No, Mum.’ Some tension leaves my body at the sound of his gentle voice. It means he’s still here, still present in the world. When he disappears into himself, his voice goes away.

We’re not alone on our platform, but no one else matters apart from Aiden and Gina. Their hands in mine. Their safety against this world and the darkness within it. I stare down into the woodland area, through the trees and tangles of thorny bushes.

‘Get it over with,’ Rob grumbles under his breath. Aiden’s father. My ex.

I hear the cluck of Sonya’s tongue as she gently chastises her son.

‘Perhaps I should go and check everything’s all right,’ DCI Stevenson suggests.

‘No,’ I reply, worried that he’d miss it. He deserves to witness this moment as much as we all do. ‘I’m sure it’s just one of those things.

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