I don’t know when I made the grave mistake of trusting people, of believing they would return my children. I slipped up with my words and now…now I’m struggling to survive. I don’t know how much fight I have in me, but I must amplify it.
My biggest fear is that I’m not alone down here.
I can’t lose Oscar and Slonne.
Not like this.
Not ever.
I still have the tracker on, it’s my only hope that the police are alerted and on their way, but my chest burns from the anxiety just the same. I persist, kicking my legs frantically to swim down the deepest I can. I want to get up for air, a single breath, but I need Oscar and Slone more. I’ll never forgive myself if they’re…I fight against the freezing water yet can’t feel anything from where I am. The additional fear factor is all I see is darkness.
Are they here or did SPD get to them?
How long has it been?
I surface, gasping for air as I brush my short hair out of my face. My top and jeans cling to my body. In the far distance, there’s a small white boat speeding away from me, and that’s when it dawns on me that I must have been thrown off by the culprits.
They left me to die.
I’ll never make it to them. Not with their quick departure, and especially not when the boat turns and disappears behind a bend.
My shattered heart oozes in these clear, reflective waters. I could be at some lake, but I don’t recognize it. I can’t see anybody. The eerie, bracing breeze makes the dark skies more ominous. I glance at the stars and immediately remember what I’m fighting for…
Giulio and our children.
Freezing water surrounds me for miles. I can’t do this. My energy is fading. There’s no pier or sense of impending rescue and while my main objective is to not stress because my ability to swim will weaken, I’m still stuck in the middle of nowhere, treading water to stay afloat.
Breathe.
What if Oscar and Slonne are here too? What if they need me?
Fuck.
I plunge underneath one last time. I feel nothing again and it ruins me because all I want to do is find my babies but can’t. I come back up, struggling to breathe. Maybe SPD saved them. Please. They don’t need this memory to hold on to. They’re too young and are already fighting through so much.
I resurface and scream out for help, praying somebody can hear me.
A motor roars in the distance. It’s them. They’re coming back. They’re going to finish me off. I can only barely see the boat coming up behind me. They’ve done a loop—Wait. Wait a minute. A floodlight blinds me for a moment and then…flashing lights.
Red and blue flares illuminate the water’s surface. Coast Guard—police!
An angel has answered my prayers.
My angel.
“VALENCIA!” I recognize Giulio’s shout of haunting desperation. “LENCIA?”
“I’M OKAY! DO YOU HAVE OSCAR AND SLONNE? ARE THEY SAFE?”
“THEY’RE SAFE. WE’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BABY.”
They’re safe.
Thank God.
Coast Guard inches closer and a man speaks to me through a megaphone, promising everything’s going to be okay and giving instructions on the next step. A lifesaver is thrown into the water, but I can’t summon enough strength to reach it as my heartbeat grows thick in my ears…and then I feel myself going under.
I’m drowning.
I want to hold on.
I want to have enough fight in me. I need to, but my limbs are numb.
Hold your breath, just a little longer.
And then I feel it. Somebody sinks down beside me. I can’t see who it is. I’m pulled up until we surface and I’m coughing out water.
Giulio.
He holds me flush to his chest and pushes back my hair from my eyes. His own is slicked back from the plunge. Water drips from his face as he frantically looks me over to ensure I’m safe. I am now. Against the moonlight, a gentle smile crawls up my lips.
He saved me.
We’re going to be okay.
Giulio’s terrified gaze meets mine and without saying a single word, he kisses me. Desperately. It’s everything I need and more. We have our twins back. I have him—forever.
“Oh my god, I thought I lost you. I thought I lost all of you. When SPD entered the property they had already taken you but left the kids. I thought you had—” His voice breaks, incapable of continuing. I’m right here with his every emotion. “I thought you had died.”
“I’m here. I’m right here. Don’t ever let go of me, Giulio.”
Those bluish-grays light up. “I never will. You are mine, Lencia.”
“And I am yours. Until death do us part.”
“No. I’ll be haunting your dreams even then, darling.”
We manage to break out in a small laugh through our heartache. Our intimate embrace only intensifies. We kiss. Again and again. The sensation is indescribable.
I can’t believe he’s right here.
Giulio Giannotti makes me feel so damn complete.
We share an agonizing stare, realizing this is far from over. Our story doesn’t end here. Addilyn. Why couldn’t she have been with the twins? Why do we still have this agonizing hole in the middle of our hearts?
But we’re closer to the finish line.
I can taste it.
The events of tonight only mean one thing; soon the final showdown will come.
Giulio reaches out for the lifesaver and holds onto it as they pull us to the boat. He then hauls me into the arms of one of the Coast Guardsmen. Sergeant Flynn pulls out his hand to pull my husband on board, all while the team quickly wraps my shivering body in a warm blanket.
The boat turns around.
Giulio sits beside me and when he hugs me to his chest, I open the blanket to cover him too.
“You were so strong for the twins. You got them back. You saved them.”
“It was teamwork.”
“It’s us, darling,” he whispers against my lips. “It’s you and I. It’s us.”
It
