Page 28 of Tag
It made my skin crawl.
The receptionist led us down a hallway lined with motivational quotes and photos of smiling volunteers. None of them looked like her.
“She’s in the back office,” the woman said cheerfully. “Should I let her know you’re coming?”
“No,” I said, and opened the door myself.
The woman sitting behind the desk looked up, startled.
Then went still.
Her face—older, lined, sharper than I remembered—froze as her gaze moved from me… to Faron.
And just like that, twenty years of silence were shattered.
“I was wondering how long it would take,” she said softly.
I blinked.
No tears.
No apologies.
Just… that.
Faron stepped inside first. “So it’s true.”
Her lips parted like she might lie—but she didn’t. “Yes. It’s me.”
I followed, my legs somehow still working even though my entire body felt like a live wire.
“You left us,” I said.
“I tried to protect you.”
“Bullshit,” Faron snapped. “Youabandonedus. You faked your own death and left my sister alone to fend for herself, and this is what you are.”
She looked at him then, and for just a second—just a second—her face cracked.
“You were better off with your father. I tried taking care of Aponi. I left her to keep her safe.”
“You should have left her with us. At least she would have known she was loved.”
“I had no choice,” she said.
“You hadtwo kids,” I said, my voice rising. “And you chosethisover us?”
“I chose to fight,” she said. “To infiltrate. To stop it from the inside. If they knew I had children, they’d have killed you both.”
I stared at her. “You expect us to believe you joined a trafficking ring to take it down? From a shelter?”
She stood slowly. “Not joined. I fed them enough information to stay alive. I watched girls disappear because if I screamed, it would’ve been you instead.”
Faron’s voice dropped low. “You let our hearts suffer.”
“I stayed hidden,” she said, eyes wet now. “And every damn day it killed me. But I never stopped watching. I made sure you survived. Ask Malik. Ask anyone.”
“You know we would’ve taken the risk,” I whispered. “You were my mother. I was so scared.”
