CHAPTER 5

Sofia opened her mouth wide and felt as if the ceiling was falling on her. She wanted to articulate words, but she couldn't, the lump in her throat fortified, imprisoning her, as well as the agonizing feeling of the walls threatening to crush her. 

"This..." She looked at the woman, then at the glass. And making silence for a couple of seconds, she understood that what was happening there seemed like a circus in bad taste. "Where is he?" Her words broke through the pressure of her teeth. "Where is Gael?! Is he there? He is there watching everything, isn't he? Gael! Look at me, Gael, look at my face, what have I done to you to make you do this to me? Why are you doing this to me?!" 

Both women jumped when they heard the door open unexpectedly. 

"What the hell is going on here!" the policewoman exclaimed. "I'm in the middle of an interrogation." 

It was the rookie. 

"Excuse me, Lieutenant, we have some very important information for you to review." 

"What information? This is absurd." 

"You must see for yourself." 

Sophia's breath held as this sort of conversation took place in front of her eyes. 

"OK, we'll continue shortly." 

"Wait, are you leaving? Wait!" Sofia shouted. "Let's clear this up at once, I have to go get my son!" 

The officer got up abruptly from her chair, picked up the folder, and left, closing the door behind her with a loud bang. 

Immediately, Sofia looked in the mirror, she wanted to check the paper in her pocket. She sensed that behind that panel was Gael himself watching her, enjoying watching blame her for something she didn't do. 

She rested her back on the chair at a slant so that she could see what the mystery of the pocket was all about. That's how she managed to make out the small sheet, even focusing on the words written in pen. 

"Your son is fine, he will wait for you at the daycare, trust me. L." 

A flood of comfort poured over her head and washed over her whole body. The feeling was so powerful that she had to cry, though avoiding crying too vigorously, sustained but releasing, a necessary cry so she could feel was still going strong. 

Sofia looked at nothing, took a breath, took her hands out, leaving the paper inside the jacket... 

"Come with me!" 

Sofia raised her face, very astonished, with fear running through her veins. Officer L. Vos entered the room like a sweeping tsunami and approached her with an outstretched arm to help her up. 

"What's going on?" 

"We have to go now! Move, Sofia! Now! C'mon, let's go!" 

As if the light of all the sacred tunnels was not white, but of another intense color, the young Sofia clung to the masculine hand of that savior and didn't let go as they both ran down the same corridor they ran together after arriving at that building. 

"Go on!" 

Adrenaline, like an inky stance, energized the girl's steps, concentrating on her footsteps and the dark blue back of the man who was carrying her away. 

"This way!" Vos ran with her, reached a black van, and released her so he could open the passenger door. "Get in!" 

"No, what? What's going on? Where are you taking me? We're committing a crime!" 

"You're not getting out of there, Sofia. That fucker Cliff is fucking you up bad. Get in if you want to see your son again, get in!" 

One second, two seconds... She found determination in Vos' eyes and got in, he closed the door, went around the van, got in, too, and started before he even closed his. 

Sofia held on to the seat so as not to wobble thanks to the great speed they were going. 

"Ahh! I don't want to die! God!" were the only phrases she could shout before realizing the path they were taking. 

"Put on your seat belt!" 

Sofia looked back, realizing that no one was following them. She looked ahead, all the traffic lights were green. Her heart was many times about to escape through her mouth, but it was already done, she was a fugitive, and she let herself be carried away by that man who took her out in the most shocking way in the middle of the police interrogation. 

Sofia covered her face with her hands and clung to God, praying for her life and the life of her little Liam, when suddenly, the speed subsided. 

She lowered her hands and looked around. «Are we in Liam's daycare?», she wondered. 

"Make it quick. Go in, get your child, and come out right away. I'll wait for you." 

"What? But..." 

"Come on, Sofia! It won't be long before this turns into a circus." 

Sofia didn't react. She could already imagine the sirens, the gunshots, the jail. 

"What have we done?" she whispered, with new tears in her eyes. 

He took her hands and squeezed them. 

"I swear this was the only way out, I swear." They were both breathing hard. "I told you, Sofia, trust me." 

She swallowed the dryness in her throat and took off those hands to get out of the carriage and go get her little boy. 

She walked in a hurry, without running, because she didn't want anyone to suspect that something was wrong. Still, she didn't know how to quell the urgency taking hold of her. 

She climbed the small set of stairs to a brick-colored double door that was always locked. She smiled at the watchman, a very friendly African-American who let her in. 

Without explanation, she walked through the corresponding corridors until she came to the maternity room, always smiling, a feigned gesture that only became sincere when she saw her little boy. 

"Honey! Come to mommy." She met her offspring in the middle of the way, he towards her and then she picked him up to give him hugs and kisses. "How are you, my beauty boy? How did it go today at the little school?" 

"Liam has been excellent today," reported one of his caregivers, the only one in the desolate classroom. She was a slightly short woman with short black hair, dressed in a regulation uniform and a patterned apron. "Is everything all right? We were very worried about you when we heard you were going to be late, and especially when a police officer informed us that." 

Sofia froze for a moment, quickly coming back to earth. 

She smiled. 

"He's a friend. I'm managing a move, and my landlady got a little rude, that's why I was late, and he offered to come. Sorry, I didn't manage to call to let you know." 

The teacher wrinkled her eyebrows slightly but didn't stop smiling. 

"Goodbye, little Liam!" she said, as mother and child hurried away, immediately after Sofia had almost snatched her son's backpack from the teacher's hands. 

Sofia hugged her baby tightly and hurried back to the car, which was still waiting for her with the door open. She got in and Vos drove off at almost the same speed as before. 

He was driving in concentration, but he couldn't help but glance at them from time to time, alternating between the road and the image of the woman hugging her baby in anguish. 

When the young mother saw where they were, she felt her chest tighten again. The van was parked between a big car and a wall, and the engine was turned off. Vos, still with her hands on the steering wheel, sighed. 

"Why are we at the airport?" she asked. 

"Contrary to what you may be believing, no one will come after you, because no one has a charge against you." 

She didn't understand what he was saying, she showed him in a gesture. He looked at the baby, innocent of everything that was happening. 

"I still don't know exactly what Gael Cliff is up to, but it's not good, like almost everything that family does. The accusation against you is false..." 

"Of course it's false," she cut him off in her defense. 

He showed his palms, asking her to calm down. 

"I saw it. Especially the amount they put in your account today." 

"One hundred thousand dollars. I've never seen so much money in my life." 

"Dark money, they wanted to dirty you with it. We think they meant to take it from you. We think intending to take the child from you. Did you know that Gael is getting married soon?" Sofia opened her eyes and denied it. "His future wife is the daughter of a millionaire." 

"What does that marriage have to do with all this and with me?" 

"We don't know, but it has something to do with it. You gave him a son who was always a nuisance to him. Now, out of the blue, he wants to take you away by putting you in jail. I mean it, something has to do with it, but you can't stay to find out. You can't stay." 

She changed her expression.  

"What do you mean?" 

He sighed, feeling something strong in his chest that he didn't know how to interpret. 

He turned his body, pulling one arm back, and brought with him a leather backpack that seemed a bit heavy. 

"What's that?" 

"Take it." 

She maneuvered with Liam to take the bag he was handing her. 

"Your sister is going to wait for you." 

"What?" She smiled, not at all amused. "My sister's been in Spain for years." 

"I know. And you're going to visit her." Sofia couldn't believe it. "We did some quick research and found out you have a sister there. We called her..." 

"What? And... who...?" 

"She understood everything and will be waiting for you." 

"But... how...? This is crazy!" 

"No. Crazy is what Liam's father was about to do today." 

Sofia opened the backpack; inside were her and Liam's passport, two plane tickets, and an envelope with money." 

"You broke into my apartment? These passports were there. How did you...?" 

He didn't answer, and she continued to look through them. The envelope contained a considerable, though not excessive, amount of money. Underneath, clothes, household goods, not a lot of things, but all women's and some baby things." 

"It's going to be a long trip, you'll want to put on some other clothes, maybe a coat. Buy it with that money and leave some in case you have to buy something for the child." 

"I've got stuff in the apartment..." 

"Your sister will take care of that." 

"This is..." She looked at nothing, then at him. "How did we get out of the station without being chased?" 

Vos didn't want to explain any of that to her, much less with the little time they had. 

"Don't try to answer those things, just... keep in mind that no one will look for you, no one will come after you." 

"Then why did we run away as if we were delinquents?" 

"Because the best thing is for you to leave the country for a while, to visit your sister and... don't you have financial problems? Isn't that why you had to take on that jerk's money? The best idea now is for you not to be here." Vos didn't want to tell her that he was the one who would get in trouble and that by investigating him, she would show up on that case, that he didn't want to harm her, and that the cameras showing any evidence of their meeting at the station would be erased shortly. 

By her side, Sofia understood that perhaps behind that mirror in that gloomy interrogation room, something big was unfolding, that Gael was involved, and she was caught in the middle. She also understood that the officer next to her had saved them and now they had to say goodbye. 

"Why are you helping me?" 

Vos stood still, looking straight into her face. 

"Because it's the right thing to do," he hesitated to answer and felt he missed too much to say. 

Liam looked at his mom and placed his little hands on her face. She closed her eyes, took his tiny palms, and kissed them, smelling the perfect scent of tenderness. 

She inhaled, exhaled, and opened the door. 

"I'm very grateful to you, I will pay you for everything and this money." 

He gritted his teeth; he didn't know what to answer; he wasn't used to being good at accepting thanks or compliments. 

Sofia got off with some difficulty. He helped her to take her things little by little, but when he thought she was going to leave, she looked at him again. 

"The jacket..." she said, starting to take it off. 

"Keep it. It's not too good for the cold, but you look good in it." 

Sofia blushed, and looking down, remembered the note. 

She reached into her right pocket and pulled out the paper he had left there for her. 

"What's the "L" for?" He made a gesture of not understanding. "The "L" in your name. You signed here with your first initial, not your last name." 

He smiled faintly, with closed lips, and looking into her eyes, he said to her: 

"Leonel." 

Sofia didn't imagine that this was the name and immediately agreed that it was a wonderful one and that she would never forget it. 

"So, Leonel Vos, will we see each other someday?" 

He wanted to smile more openly, but couldn't. 

"If you and I meet again," she added, "you'll let me make it up to you for all this. I can tell you're hard up for flattery. You won't take it as one, and we'll call it even." 

They both stared at each other, but little Liam began to stir, so it was time to say goodbye to his savior. 

"Take care of yourself, Sofia. And take good care of little Liam." 

"I will." She closed the van and walked a few steps away. 

There was still a long way to go to the airport since the officer parked far from the main doors of that building. With Liam's weight and the two bags (Liam's suitcase and hers), it was a little difficult to walk faster. With a little more than a hundred meters to go, a group of sirens that were clearly from patrol cars could be heard in the distance. Alarmed, she turned around and could see that they were not for her. When she wanted to check if they were for him, she realized that Leonel had already left.