Chapter 10 - THE ROAD TO SPOKANE
Police traced Sarah after Spokane through a shelter network.
She had checked into a domestic-violence shelter under her maiden name.
Three days.
Then left.
Why not contact Rebecca?
She had.
Through a shelter advocate.
Rebecca never received the message because the email address used was one character wrong.
Accident?
Possibly.
Sarah believed her sister had ignored her.
That emotional misunderstanding changed everything.
She left for another shelter in Washington.
Then became sick.
Postpartum infection.
Hospitalized under her maiden name.
No one connected her to the missing-person report immediately because the report had been filed in Montana after she entered care.
When databases finally matched, detectives found her.
Alive.
Weak.
Terrified.
And furious.
Her first question:
“Where are my children?”
Her second:
“Did Dean get the trust?”
Sarah returned to Montana with investigators.
She did not go directly home.
She went to the hospital where Mason was recovering from cold exposure.
When Mason saw her, he did not run.
He stared.
As if he needed proof.
Sarah said:
“It’s me.”
Mason started crying.
Then angry words came.
“You left us.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you take us?”
“I thought I was coming back.”
“You didn’t.”
“No.”
May you like
She did not tell him he should understand.
That mattered.
