Chapter 454
The drive feels endless and too short all at once. The second we pull up outside the ranch, I throw the car door open before it even fully stops.
Pain tears through my side immediately but I ignore it. Nothing matters except Val.
I rush toward the house and ring the bell aggressively. The second the door opens, I shove past the shocked woman standing there.
“Hey p>
I barely hear her because somewhere inside the house a baby is crying. My heart stops for a second before I decide to follow the sound desperately while chaos erupts behind me.
The woman starts screaming while Noah and Adrian restrain both her and the man rushing down the stairs.
I keep moving; the cries lead me downstairs to the basement. When I finally reach the bottom, I stop breathing because shoved into a corner is a dirty crib and the crying is coming from there.
I approach it slowly, my heart racing, my breathing uneven. A gasp leaves my lips and tears begin falling down my cheeks when I see my baby grey eyes looking up as she cries weakly.
My knees almost give out because she looks too small and too thin. Her diaper is overflowing and her tiny vest is filthy.
Tears blur my vision as I whisper her name. My baby girl cries harder while reaching weakly upward.
I don’t even care about the dirt. I immediately start searching frantically through nearby supplies.
My hands shake as I clean her gently, removing the soaked diaper and wiping her tiny body while tears pour down my face.
“You’re okay,” I whisper shakily even though I’m saying it more to myself than her. “Mommy’s here p>
After putting a clean diaper on her, I finally pick her up and the second her skin touches mine, she stops crying.
Her tiny body melts against my chest as if she knows me. As if somewhere deep inside her she recognizes me as her mother, and that breaks me completely at that, because it feels like she’s been waiting for me too.
I hold her tight rocking her gently and just soaking the feel of her small body next to me when a gasp behind me pulls me from the moment.
I turn and find Lilly standing there, her lips trembling.
“Oh my God p>
She rushes toward us before wrapping both of us into her arms. We stand there crying together while Val quietly rests against my chest.
Eventually we move upstairs and I come to a stop when I see the couple tied up in the living room while police sirens sound faintly in the distance.
Noah looks up first, then freezes for a moment right before his eyes widen as he stares at the baby in my arms.
“Is… is that…” he doesn’t finish his sentence.
He can’t even finish.
I smile through my tears and nod. “It’s our daughter… We found Val p>
For the first time in my life I see Noah cry.
He walks toward us slowly like he’s afraid this isn’t real before he reaches for us and pulls both Val and me into his arms while kissing her tiny face over and over again.
Val giggles and the sound completely destroys all of me because despite everything, she still has some joy inside her.
Eventually Noah pulls back slightly before saying, “The police are coming p>
I nod before sitting carefully on the couch. Looking at Val closer only confirms what I already suspected; they barely cared for her and that brings anger burning through me.
Without caring who’s watching, I pull my shirt down slightly and guide Val toward my breast. For a second I expect her to reject it, but instead she latches on like instinct takes over. Like she’s been waiting for this too.
Relief washes over me as I hold her closer. Then softly, while stroking her tiny cheek, I whisper:
“Welcome home, my darling p>