Page 46 of Maddox

I frowned, concentrating hard. "A...a bird name, I think. Eagle something?"

Anna nodded, making a note on her pad. "You're doing so well, Clare. I'm very proud of you."

I beamed at her praise, then looked up at Daddy for his approval too. He smiled warmly at me, brushing a strand of hair from my face. "My brave, smart princess," he murmured.

"Can you tell me about the last time you saw the other girls?" Anna asked after a moment.

The smile faded from my face. "There was a party," I whispered. "Jeremy made us all dress up in special clothes. He said important people were coming."

"What kind of important people?" Anna prompted.

"Men in suits. They had.…they had numbers.”

I said slowly, my brow furrowing as I tried to remember. "Not names. Numbers."

"Numbers instead of names?" Anna asked gently.

I nodded, clutching Henry tighter. "Jeremy called them 'One' and 'Three' and...and other numbers. They looked at us like...like we were things to buy." I shuddered at the memory.

"Did you see what happened to the other girls after that party?" Anna's voice remained calm, but I could see the concern in her eyes.

"They were gone the next day," I whispered. "All of them. Jeremy said they went to serve the king. But I was special." My voice dropped even lower. "He said I was too precious to share."

I felt Daddy's hand tighten slightly on my shoulder before relaxing again.

"Clare," Anna said carefully, "do you remember how many other girls there were?"

I closed my eyes, trying to count in my head. "Seven," I finally said. "Seven others at the party. But there had been more before. They kept...disappearing."

Anna nodded, making another note. "You're doing so well, sweetheart. Can you tell me about that bear you’re holding? What’s his name?"

Chapter Sixteen

MADDOX

I listened carefully as Anna redirected the questions away from Blakeny and to things that made Clare happy and safe. I knew I had to get the info to Gideon and Dion asap, but Clare had to come first, and she needed me.

Clare yawned a couple of times while she was describing her favorite book, and Anna expertly relaxed her until she was leaning heavily against me, barely able to keep her eyes open. When they shut, Anna nodded to the bed and whispered, “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

I scooped Clare up and tucked her in with her stuffies. She never woke.

When I joined Anna downstairs, she was already making notes in her pad.

"Seven girls," I said quietly, running a hand through my hair. "Seven that we didn't know about."

Anna nodded grimly. "And it sounds like they were sold at some kind of auction to clients who identified themselves by numbers."

"Eagle something," I muttered. "A place with desert scrub and a lake. It could be any place with those names, but given what she said about heat..."

"This is significant information," Anna said. " I'm concerned a little about Clare's dissociation, and I want to continue to see her three times a week.”

I poured us both coffee, needing the caffeine. "Will she remember any of this when she wakes up?"

Anna considered this for a moment. "It's hard to say. Sometimes memories accessed in an altered state remain accessible afterward, but sometimes they don't. Either way, I think we should be gentle with how we introduce this information to her adult self."

I nodded, gripping my coffee mug tightly. "What's your professional opinion—should I tell her what she revealed?"

"Yes, but carefully," Anna replied. "Wait until she's fully present in her adult headspace. Explain that she shared some memories while in her Little space and ask if she'd like to know what they were. Give her the choice."

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