Sin Of Innocence

Episode 15

“So, let me get this straight… you knew?” I asked my dad with a slight part to my lips.

The beeping of the heart monitor managed to fill the silence. A smell so clean, yet deadly was all that infiltrated my nose as I waited for his answer.

My dad had a small graze on his calf from the heroic attempt he commited. The ambulance had to get him up from the floor just to drive him down to the hospital where he had to rest for a few hours as they treated him.

“I told you this a million times already. Yes, I knew. I knew from the moment I came home to find his car parked in our driveway many weeks ago. For you both to be sneaking around, you guys sure do a terrible job of it,” my dad laughed out before grimacing in pain. 20

My shoulders fell in disbelief. Of course, I was grateful for all the weight that suddenly trickled from my shoulders, but I was disappointed that I spent so much time trying to keep Emanuel a secret, that I missed out on so many opportunities. On the days we could’ve gone out, we didn’t. On the nights I could have been in his bed instead of the office couch, I told him no. I was too scared my father would see I was gone at night and he would question me about it. I thought he would be more upset.

“So, you aren’t mad at me?” I asked.

“Why would I be mad at you? I have worked for Mr. Mariano for a very long time. He is a really great person, and very loyal, might I add. I would rather you end up with a man like him than some dipshit like Liam Franco,” my father explained.

I couldn’t help but smile as I wrapped my arms around him, careful to avoid all of the tubes and wires connected to his body.

He had no clue how much his blessing meant to me. It felt like the world was no longer forcing me to be something that I wasn’t. I was no longer a daisy that hoped the world loved her for who she was, but a rose who no longer cared.

The door quickly barged open as Hazel practically sprinted in with Emanuel following in right behind her. “Oh, Jason! Are you okay?”

My dad tried to smile, but I could see the pain in his eyes. She walked over to him and sat down on the side of his bed. I could only watch as she looked over his body for any other evidence of physical hurt. It had been so long since I had seen someone be so caring for my father. It was a sight that I missed.

I craned my neck up to look at Emanuel when he wrapped his arm around my waist protectively.

“I’m fine, really,” my dad said.

“I’m just glad no one got hurt. I saw Liam being carried out by the police on the news. They have him under arrest for not only stalking and the attempted kidnapping of you, Christina, but also for forty-three other kidnapping and stalking charges,” Hazel informed us. “He has been tracking down women, taking them, and then selling them to whoever would buy since he was eighteen years old. So far, the police have found twenty of those women, and the count is only rising as Liam tells them where to find the girls. They even found a girl who had gone missing recently, Stephanie Hearse. Christina… you, Emanuel, and even Jason probably just saved forty-three lives.”

I smiled as I looked up at the man who had every piece of my heart. It was crazy to think about. No one would’ve guessed that a man like Liam, who had absolutely everything, would choose to do something so cruel. At least lives were saved and differences were made. Girls who I could have ended up just like, were now home and back with the people who loved them.

“Thank you, Emanuel. Thank you, Dad. It was you both that saved me and kept me from being number forty-four. Now, there will be zero of Liam’s victims out there, but that’s just Liam’s. What about the rest of the people out there? What about my future child, or someone else’s future child, who has to live with the worry that maybe one day they would become someone’s forty-fourth or sixty-seventh?” I raged. 6

Everyone in the room was staring at me like I was crazy, but they knew I was right. I was scared out of my mind when Liam grabbed me, I could imagine having him succeed. Those girls and boys who live in fear because they were taken for no reason other than breathing was what made guilt course through me. They deserved someone to fight for them the way Emanuel and my dad fought for me.

“I’m changing my major. I’m going to dive deeper into this because after saving this many people, thus far, I think I am ready to save more,” I stated. 28

Emanuel placed a kiss on top of my head. “I am so proud of you, Christina.”

“Yeah, me too,” my dad said.

“Ma’am,” a police officer called out as he stepped into the room. I glanced over at him to watch as he twisted the volume of his radio to low. “We have one of the survivors here. She says she won’t do anything unless she thanks you first. Will that be okay?”

I anxiously nodded my head just before studying the small girl who entered the room. She was beautiful and if it weren’t for the bruises that tainted her skin, it would be more obvious. I almost broke down at the sight of her black eye and teary cheeks.

I opened my mouth to speak, but she had already thrown herself into my arms and wept.

“Thank you! Thank you!” she cried out. My eyes began to get glassy as I wrapped my arms around her.

“What’s your name?” I asked her. No matter her answer, I knew her name was going to be engraved in my mind forever. She was the first person I ever helped, but she wouldn’t be the last.

“Stephanie. Stephanie Hearse,” she sniffled before pulling away. “I’m sorry for crying all over you. I thought my life was over, but then the police came and… I felt hope again. You brought hope for me and I will never forget that. Thank you, Christina.”

I wiped away my tears as a huge smile spread across her face. 4

“You are so strong.”

She smiled softly before looking over at Emanuel and then my father. Her eyes began to tear up as she mouthed a soft ‘thank you’. They both nodded their head and smiled gracefully at her. She wiped away her tears once more before walking out of the hospital room. The police officer followed closely behind her.

When she left, Emanuel grasped my hand softly. I smiled over at him, feeling my heart grow heavy at the sight in front of me. Hazel, Dad, and Emanuel—three people who felt like family. They helped me find my true purpose. I was going to help more girls like Stephanie Hearse, if it were the last thing I do.