Page 71 of Forged in Flames (Made of Steel 2)

"No, it's not that." The thought of V sitting in jail made my chest ache. Could he really be sent away for life? The only reason he had killed someone was to protect me. To save me. "I'm afraid he's going to try to stop me."

Eli leaned back on the bench. "I'm still hoping you'll change your mind."

"I won't ever change my mind about this."

"I get that he robbed you of a normal childhood. But you're still breathing, Sadie. Your heart is still beating. You're strong enough to bury all that pain. You can still move on."

I shook my head. "You saw the reports Liza wrote up about me. You know I can't have a normal life."

"You mean because you can't have children? We can just adopt."

I laughed. "We?"

"Seriously, Summer," he said, lowering his voice so no passersby could hear. "We can get a kid that needs a home. Like you needed a home."

I quickly wiped my tears away that I had unknowingly started to shed. "Maybe."

He smiled. "I'm pretty sure you just admitted you'd like to start a family with me."

"I didn't say that," I said with a laugh.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you smile." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

I didn't flinch from his touch. It actually felt comforting. And it was nice to know that someone was still capable of liking me after knowing the truth. Well, part of it. No one knew I had lost a baby. And I wasn't planning on telling anyone that. The truth was, I didn't blame Don entirely for what happened. I blamed myself for not being strong enough. And if I ever said that out loud, I was afraid that my pain would swallow me whole.

"Your future isn't over." He lightly kissed my temple. "It's only just beginning. I just want you to think about it, okay?"

"You're asking a lot of me today." I rested my head on his shoulder.

His arm relaxed around my shoulders, but he didn't say anything. We just sat there, staring at the passing traffic. And for a few moments, I felt normal, like maybe I did have a future. I felt like a college student. I felt like my fake boyfriend was real. My imagination blurred with reality and for just a second, I thought I saw my mom across the street.

I lifted my head. Her red hair. Her blue eyes. The only thing missing was her kind smile. She looked sad, like everything she ever loved had been taken from her. It was as if she missed me as much as I missed her.

"Mom?" I said her name as a whisper. And I realized that it had been ten years since I had spoken that word out loud. It sounded strange in my throat.

"Stay here," Eli said. He stood up and starting sprinting across the street.

The woman looked at Eli and then back to me. Car tires squealed and cars honked as Eli tried to make his way across the street. She held up two fingers before climbing into a waiting taxi cab. The car sped off just as Eli reached the other side of the street.

It was her. It had to be her. I slowly stood up. My mom was alive. How was that possible?

Eli ran back over to me. "Damn it, I almost had her."

"Was that my mom?"

"What?"

"Eli, is my mom alive?"

He put his hands on my shoulders. "V didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" It felt like my heart was going to explode.

"There was a small hair follicle on a page in the book. We were able to get a DNA sample of Sadie Davis. The similarities aren't a coincidence. She is related to you."

"My...mom..."

"No, Summer. She's not your mom."

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