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Chapter Text

Gemma groaned and stirred when she heard a timid knock on her bedroom door. She drowsily reached out to turn on the bedside lamp,

pushed the blanket off her torso, and slowly sat up to respond, “Come in!”

In fact, she already knew what was going on, because it had been like this every night since the terrible incident with M3gan almost two

weeks ago.

The door creaked softly as it was gently pushed open before Cady appeared in the doorway, looking both frightened and ashamed.

“Gemma...” the girl sobbed, barely able to look Gemma in the eye.

“Oh, Cady...” Gemma said gently and empathetically. “Have you been having those nightmares again?”

The girl wiped a tear from her cheek with her sleeve before nodding silently.

“I wet the bed again because of it. I'm so sorry, Gemma,” Cady murmured shamefully.

“You don't have to be. I don't blame you for being afraid of what happened,” Gemma replied kindly as she got out of bed to approach her

niece and brush a strand of hair behind her little ear. “You witnessed the doll you loved so much go insane, you were threatened by her

and you watched her almost choke me to death. That’s a trauma no one can overcome easily, and that’s okay.”

Cady said nothing, but nodded silently again, avoiding Gemma’s gaze. The woman smiled weakly at her.

“Now let's find you some new pajama pants.”

While Cady got changed, Gemma changed the girl's bed sheet and blanket.

“There, now your bed is nice and cozy again. You'll sleep so well that no nightmares will wake you up from your slumber,” Gemma said

after fluffing up her niece's softest pillow. But Cady just stood there, silent and hesitant. It made Gemma furrow her brow with concern.

“Is something wrong?”

The girl's body language spoke volumes: she was tense, but she was unconsciously shifting her body in a way that showed how uneasy

she still was. It was hard for Gemma to see her like this. She sighed.

“How about you share your bed with me tonight so I can be there to scare away your nightmares? Does that sound good?”, Gemma

suggested, tapping Cady on the tip of her nose with her index finger, causing her to giggle softly. Then she nodded silently but approvingly.

Gemma smiled. “All right. But I have to turn off the bedside lamp in my room. I’ll be right back.” “Okay.”

Cady sat down on the edge of her neatly made bed and waited for Gemma to return as she hurried into her room. It took less than ten

seconds for Gemma to reappear at Cady's door, panting as if she had been running for her life, unwilling to leave the frightened little girl

alone any longer than necessary. She took another deep breath before speaking. “Okay. I'm here. Can I join you?”

Cady smiled, crawled into bed without saying a word, and lifted the blanket invitingly. Gemma smiled back and nodded contentedly before

walking over to the bed to lie down beside her. Cady's bed turned out to be a little too narrow for two people to sleep in, so they had yet

to find a suitable sleeping position. “How about this?” Gemma asked as they cuddled up together, Cady's back against Gemma's chest.

“'Nah...’” Cady replied, taking Gemma by surprise as she gently pushed her onto her back. Then Cady climbed on top of her and rested

her head on her aunt's chest. “Can we sleep like this?” the girl asked shyly. Gemma gasped briefly at Cady's request.

“Of course we can. Anything to help you sleep well,” Gemma replied kindly, gently running one hand through the girl's hair and tucking

another strand behind her ear. Cady smiled contentedly. “Good night, Gemma,” she whispered. “Good night, Cady,” Gemma whispered

back, pulling the blanket over them both.

Cady quickly drifted off to sleep, lulled by the steady rise and fall of Gemma’s chest and her heartbeat, which Cady didn’t know why it

was so soothing and familiar. Gemma stayed awake a little longer. She gently brushed her thumb across Cady's rosy cheek, lost in thought.

Tomorrow she would enroll Cady in the school she thought was best for her. There she would meet other children and make friends other

than a robot. Things would change for the better, wouldn't they? Finally, Gemma closed her eyes and, like Cady, fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter Text

The room was bathed in the light of the morning sun shining through the semi-transparent curtains. A single ray of sunlight filtered

through a small gap between the curtains and shone on Gemma's face. The woman groaned softly and stirred, holding her forearm up

to her eyes to shield herself from the glare. She was about to roll over to turn her back to the bright light when she heard a sleepy

murmur. Having slept so soundly last night, Gemma had almost forgotten that she had spent the night in Cady's room. The nine-year-old

was still lying in the same position she had been when she fell asleep, lying prone on top of her aunt, her head on her chest directly

above her heartbeat, still sleeping peacefully and occasionally murmuring nonsense in her sleep. It must have been the first time since

the M3gan incident that the girl had slept like this.

Gemma didn't move. She didn't want her to wake up yet. Instead, she wanted to savor the moment of peace and quiet. She carefully

placed a hand between Cady's shoulder blades and smiled gently when she realized that the girl was breathing at the same rhythm as her.

Then Gemma slowly moved her hand to Cady's hair and brushed a few strands from her face, whereupon the girl unconsciously smiled

slightly. Gemma smiled back, feeling blessed to see her niece like this. She placed her hand between Cady's shoulder blades again and ran

her index finger in light circles. They remained like that for another half hour before Cady woke up to the sound of her own stomach

rumbling.

“I'm hungry,” was the first thing she said to her aunt as she slowly blinked her eyes open. Gemma chuckled.

“Good morning to you too, Cady.” The girl just yawned in response before rising from Gemma’s chest to stretch. Gemma couldn’t help but

smile at her. “How about pancakes for breakfast? After all, this was your first proper sleep in almost two weeks. That calls for a

celebration,” Gemma suggested cheerfully. “Sounds good,” Cady replied briefly as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Gemma giggled again.“Good. Then I'll make us an award-worthy breakfast while you drag yourself out of bed,” Gemma said jokingly,

giving her niece a peck on the forehead before heading to the kitchen.

The pancakes Gemma was making for them sizzled pleasantly, and their sweet aroma filled the kitchen as Cady walked in, still in her

pajamas. Gemma smiled when she saw her niece sit down in her usual chair at the table, and piled a stack of freshly made pancakes onto

her plate.

“Just the way you like them best. I've also poured you some freshly squeezed orange juice. Bon appétit,” Gemma said, quite proud of how

well they had turned out, before turning back to the stove to make her own pancakes. “Thanks, Gemma,” Cady mumbled sleepily, reaching

for the bottle of maple syrup to pour some over her pancakes. Gemma chuckled when she saw the pool of maple syrup on Cady’s plate.

“Want some more pancakes for the syrup?” she asked jokingly. “No, thanks,” the girl replied dryly, as if it had been a perfectly normal

question. Gemma giggled and joined Cady with her own stack of pancakes and a mug of coffee.

They enjoyed their breakfast in silence, Gemma secretly amused by how Cady was wolfing down her pancakes as if she hadn’t eaten in a

week. Afterwards, Gemma put the dishes in the sink to wash them later.

“I have some things to do this morning,” Gemma explained to her niece as she wiped the table. “Can you keep yourself busy for a while?

Maybe watch some cartoons, read some comics, or play with the new toys I bought you? I promise I’ll be done by lunchtime.”

“Okay,” the girl replied with a nod and slid off her chair. “Good. Later then, ” Gemma said. “Later,” Cady replied as she left the kitchen to

head to the living room.

Three hours later, Gemma heard a knock on the door of her home office, which made her flinch slightly.

“Come in!”

Cady opened the door and saw her aunt sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by piles of disorganized and unlabeled folders.

Gemma glanced at the wall clock and was shocked to realize that it was almost past noon.

“Oh, Cady. I'm so sorry! I completely lost track of time!” “What are you doing?” the girl asked in wonder. “I need to submit a copy of your

birth certificate to enroll you in school. I've gone through all the piles except one. Apparently, your parents didn't place much importance

on organization. They didn't even label them,” Gemma replied, completely stressed out and exasperated. “Can I help you?” Cady offered.

"Oh, that's very kind of you, but I'm almost done. There's just one last pile of folders. Your birth certificate must be in one of these. You'll

have to deal with paperwork soon enough when you're older. It'll take maybe ten more minutes, then I'll make us some lunch,“ Gemma

declined her niece's offer of help with an awkward smile that Cady had never seen on her aunt's face before. ”Okay," Cady replied and

turned to leave, but suddenly one of the piles fell over and hit the pile Gemma hadn't gone through yet. “Oops!”, Gemma exclaimed as

they watched the folders scatter across the floor. Apparently, some of the documents were loose and fluttered out.

“Oh dear! What a mess!”, Gemma lamented, massaging her temples to calm her nerves.

Cady looked down at the papers lying face down at her feet. She bent down to pick them up and turned them over.

Gemma sighed. “Cady, I can handle this. You don't have to...” But when she saw the look on the girl's face, she paused. She seemed

frozen in shock. Gemma quickly realized what Cady was looking at, something she should never have seen, not ever. “Cady...”, Gemma

said cautiously, but the girl continued to stare at the documents she was holding. One of them was her birth certificate, which listed only

one parent's name. The others were adoption papers listing Nicole and Ryan James as her adoptive parents. “You're my mother,” Cady

murmured in disbelief. Gemma swallowed hard and slowly rose from the floor. “Cady, I...” “All this time I thought my parents were

dead, but they were just my aunt and her husband!”, Cady shouted at her in a rage. “Does that make you care less about them?!

Cady, they were much better parents to you than I ever could have been!” Gemma countered, her voice trembling. “Then why did you

even give birth to me?!”

Gemma froze. The girl's answer stung like a dagger in her chest. Her throat tightened and her body began to tremble. She cautiously

approached her, reaching out an arm to place a soothing but shaky hand on Cady's shoulder. “C-Cady, I...” But she was cut off when Cady

slapped her hand away mid-motion. “Don’t you dare touch me!”, she screamed out as her voice broke, then stormed out and ran down

the hallway to her room.

In utter despair, Gemma followed her. “Cady! Please wait!” But the girl didn't even pause for a second and slammed her bedroom door

shut with full force. Gemma reached for the doorknob, but the door wouldn't open. Cady must have barricaded it to lock herself in.

Gemma hammered repeatedly on the door. “Cady! Please open the door! Cady!” she pleaded, but got no response.

Eventually, Gemma buried her face in her palms and began to cry. She turned around, leaned her back against the door, and slid to the

floor.

I was finally becoming the person I was supposed to be for her, but now I've ruined everything.

Then she heard Cady's sobs from the other side of the door, mingling with her own.

Chapter Text

Gemma was still crouched on the floor, her back against the door of Cady's room. She had cried so much that she couldn't cry anymore.

Cady, on the other hand, was still crying, her sobs still audible from the other side of the door. Finally, Gemma slowly lifted her head

from her palms, her eyes now red and puffy, and took her smartphone from her pants pocket. She picked Tess's number and texted her.

Hi, Tess.

Do you have time to come over? I need someone to talk to. Things are really tense right now.

—Gemma

It took less than a minute for her to receive a reply.

Sounds urgent. I'm on my way!

Gemma let out a sigh of relief. She knew she could rely on her co-worker and best friend when she was feeling down, one of the few

people who actually listened to her when she needed someone to confide in.

While waiting for Tess to show up, Gemma stood in the kitchen and made Cady her favorite sandwich with lots of ham, mayonnaise,

and a leaf of lettuce for a balanced diet. Then Gemma took the sandwich on a plate along with a bottle of Cady's favorite juice and

placed it next to Cady's door. Gemma knocked gently. "Hey... It's okay if you don't want to talk to me for a while. I'll leave you alone

until you're ready to talk to me again. I left some lunch outside your door. Also... I wanted to let you know that Tess is coming over.

Just so you're not too surprised if you decide to leave your room, okay?" As Gemma had expected, there was no answer.

Then the doorbell rang and Gemma went to open the door. “Hi! Oh my God! You must have been crying a lot!”, Tess noted when she

saw the woman in front of her, who looked completely broken. Gemma sniffed back her snot. “Of course I have.”

“Tell me. What happened? Does it have anything to do with Cady?” she asked as she came in. “It's really not that easy to explain.

Let's just have a seat first,” Gemma replied, leading Tess into the living room.

As they sat next to each other on the couch, Gemma caught herself fidgeting nervously with her hands and unable to sit still. Tess

noticed her state and found it difficult to see her friend like this. She placed a calming hand on Gemma's shoulder. “It's okay, Gem.

Whatever you want to get off your chest, I'll listen,” Tess said gently and reassuringly. “Okay,” Gemma said quietly, closed her eyes

and took a deep breath before finally beginning to speak. “Remember when I said Cady wasn't my child, when you were worried that

M3gan would mean parents spending less time with their children?”, Gemma asked, looking the other woman straight in the eye.

Tess was confused by Gemma's question. “That wasn't so long ago... So, yes... But what's the matter...” “I lied about it,” Gemma finally

admitted. That confused Tess even more. “Wait a minute! What do you mean, you lied? You're not telling me that you...” “I gave birth

to Cady. Not my sister,” Gemma confessed, watching Tess's incredulous expression. Then she paused and took another deep breath

before continuing. “Cady found out. She freaked out and locked herself in. I don’t know what to do. She won’t answer when I try to

talk to her from the other side of her door,” Gemma said, then sighed and massaged her temples to stay calm. Tess was appalled by

her best friend's confession. She had always thought she knew her inside and out. “I can't believe what you just told me. Why did

you keep her a secret? And why didn't you raise her?” ,Tess asked her, stunned. Gemma sighed and lowered her gaze to avoid her

friend's eyes. “Because I wasn't meant to be a mother. I was—” Gemma clenched her fists as she felt a lump in her throat. Tess looked

at her with concern and placed a hand on one of her clenched fists. “Tell me what happened,” she said in the gentlest voice Gemma

had ever heard from her.

Gemma tried to regain her composure. Finally, she mustered the courage to tell her the truth. “It happened back when I was working

for the company that manufactured prosthetic limbs. My boss at the time was known for treating his employees, especially the

female employees, disrespectfully. I was one of those he constantly picked on for no particular reason. One day, he made me work

overtime under the pretext that the shipping date for the myoelectric forearm prosthesis I was working on was set for the next

morning. I was completely exhausted and tired when I finished my work. All my co-workers had gone home hours ago. As I walked

down the hallway toward the exit to finally go home, I didn't notice him lurking in a corner. Then he grabbed me from behind,

dragged me into the storage room, and then..." Gemma broke off as she felt her throat tighten as if someone were choking her.

Her body trembled and she bit the side of her thumb as she tried not to burst into tears. She hadn't finished speaking, but she

didn't need to, because Tess understood what had happened.

Tess hugged her tightly, devastated by what her best friend had gone through and was still going through. “I'm so sorry, Gem,”

she whispered in her ear. Gemma sobbed as she buried her face in the crook of Tess's neck. “What am I going to tell Cady? She's

so young and innocent. Finding out what her father did to me would only make everything worse.” “I know. How about you call

Lydia? You know... the therapist,” Tess suggested, stroking Gemma's back soothingly. “Why her?” Gemma asked, dumbfounded,

as she pulled away from the embrace. “I can't stand her. And I'm pretty sure she can't stand me either.” “But she was in charge

of Cady when her parents... I mean... her adoptive parents died. She already knows Cady and might know how to approach this,”

Tess reasoned. Gemma sighed. “All right. I'll call her.”

Gemma grabbed her smartphone and dialed Lydia's number. "Hey, it's Gemma. Remember me? Yes? Great! Listen, I really need

your help. Cady and I had a fight, and now she's locked herself in her room and won't talk to me. No matter how hard I try. Can

you please come over? Oh. Okay, thanks! See you soon.“ The call ended.

”What did she say?“ Tess asked her. ”She agreed to an emergency home visit. She’ll be here in about 20 minutes.” ”That’s great!”

"......Yeah......"

They remained seated on the couch, waiting for the therapist to arrive. Tess had one arm around Gemma, who was leaning her

head on her shoulder. The physical closeness to her best friend helped her keep her cool for the upcoming therapy session. When

they heard the doorbell ring, Tess took her arm away so Gemma could get up and answer the door. As Gemma crossed the hallway,

she noticed the sound of funny cartoons coming from the small TV in Cady's room, but she didn't pay any further attention to it

and finally opened the front door.

“Hey!” Lydia greeted her. “Hey,” Gemma replied, letting the woman enter. “I'm glad you were able to arrange this on such short

notice,” she added as she led the therapist toward the living room, where Tess was waiting. “It's part of my job, after all. And in

emergencies like children locking themselves in, there's no time to waste,” Lydia said with her usual smile, which Gemma never

knew was genuine or fake.

Now all three women were sitting on the couch, Gemma in the middle.

“So... On the phone, you told me that you and your niece had an argument. What was it about?”, Lydia asked, trying to get an idea

of the situation. “My ‘niece’,” Gemma said, nodding awkwardly and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “My ‘niece’. Yes... that’s

what the argument was about." “Could you explain that in more detail?” ,Lydia asked, not quite sure what to make of the

information her patient had just given her. Gemma just sighed and shifted restlessly on the couch. Tess put a hand on hers and

squeezed gently to show her she was there to give her the moral support she needed.

Gemma took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking. "Cady saw my name on her birth certificate. I could see from the look on

her face that her world was falling apart when she realized she had been lied to all this time. She should never have found out the

truth. Never!“, Gemma confessed in utter despair and buried her face in her hands again. Tess put her arm around her reassuringly.

Her confession surprised Lydia, but she continued to ask questions nonetheless. ”I see... So this is a rather complicated matter...

Why didn't you raise her, and why didn't you want her to know that you were her biological mother?" Gemma snivelled. “I was raped

by my former boss, and that's how I got pregnant with her. I don't know what to tell her when she asks me about her father. I mean..

if I found out that I wasn't a planned child, but fathered by a rapist, I'd throw myself off a bridge.” “I'm so sorry to hear what you

went through,” Lydia said sympathetically. “May I ask what happened next? Where is this man now? Did you report him to the

police?” "I didn't. I didn't have the courage. But a co-worker did about six weeks after the incident. Apparently, he had done the same

thing to her as he did to me. I don't know if I could have prevented it if I'd only had the courage to speak up,“ Gemma blamed herself,

shaking her head slightly and on the verge of tears again. "Perhaps you weren't even his first victim. Many women simply try to

repress the traumatic event in the hope of never having to deal with it again. Don't be too hard on yourself,“ Lydia reassured her.

”You're right,“ she replied, sobbing. ”Now he's in prison, where he belongs.“ ”That must be a great relief for you,“ Lydia said with a

slight smile. ”It is," Gemma confirmed, nodding.

After a brief pause, Lydia asked more questions about the past. “So... what did you tell your relatives, like your parents and sister,

when you found out you were pregnant and couldn't keep it a secret for much longer? Did you tell them what had been done to you?”

Gemma sighed again. "N-no, I didn't... I... I told them that I had tried to be with someone and that after we had sex for the first time,

we realized we weren't right for each other. I don't know why... but I felt better if they thought I was a slut rather than telling them

I'd been raped. Maybe I just didn't want them to feel sorry for me... or I was afraid they would say things like, ‘Why did you let that

happen? Were you too scared to fight back?’ and stuff like that.” “Most women who have experienced sexual assault feel ashamed

and don’t talk about it. Some even take this secret to their grave. You can really be proud of yourself for having the courage to talk

about it now,” Lydia praised her. Tess nodded at the therapist’s comment and felt proud of her best friend.

But Lydia wasn’t done with her questions yet. “Anyway. Even though you lied to your family, your sister somehow agreed to adopt

your daughter. Am I right?” “Um... well,” Gemma said, lowering her gaze. “Yes and no. She and her husband Ryan had been married

for two years and had been trying to have a baby without success. Eventually, the doctor told my sister she was infertile and would

never be able to have children,“ Gemma explained. ”But they were good parents to Cady, weren't they?“, Lydia asked, trying to get

an idea of the relationship between Cady and her adoptive parents. ”I'm not sure,” Gemma replied, shaking her head slightly. "Ryan

was a decent guy. I'm pretty sure he did his best to be a good father to her, but my sister... I... I think all the failed attempts to have

a child of their own had made her bitter. I felt like she was jealous that I had given birth to a child and she hadn't. I'm not sure she

was ever able to love Cady as her own child. When she came to adopt her, she acted more like she was buying a second-hand car

rather than adopting a child." “I see. It's possible that her unfulfilled desire to have children weighed heavily on her emotionally,

making it difficult for her to bond with her adopted daughter. Well... how did you feel when you found out that Cady, your biological

daughter, was going to return to you?” “I was terrified,” Gemma confessed with barely more than a whisper. “I was afraid of giving

myself away, that she might find out I was her biological mother, and that she would end up hating me. And now the thing I feared

most has come true. What am I supposed to tell her? I don't think she even knows what rape is. And a little girl like her shouldn't

have to deal with such a dark topic.“

When Tess noticed that her best friend was about to burst into tears again, she pulled Gemma closer and gently squeezed her

shoulder.

”We don't have to tell her all the details," Lydia reassured her. “The most important thing is to make it clear to her that you only

wanted the best for her. That you wanted her to have two parents who had time for her, instead of an overworked single mother.”

“That's right,” Gemma snivelled, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes with her wrists. The therapist smiled gently and

nodded contentedly. “Then let's try talking to Cady,” she suggested. “Okay,” Gemma agreed quietly, and the women got up from the

couch to go to Cady's room.

When they stood outside her door, they heard that her TV was still on and saw that the food and drink Gemma had left outside her

door earlier was still untouched.

Lydia knocked on the door. "Cady? It's Lydia. ... Listen ... Your aunt ... I mean ... your mother told me what happened, and she

wants you to know that she did what she thought was best for you. If you want, we can talk in private. Just in case you don't want

to talk to your mother right now, okay?“

The three women waited for a response, but all they could hear was the TV in Cady's room. They assumed that the TV might be too

loud and that Cady couldn't hear them. Lydia knocked again, this time a little harder. ”Cady?" Again, there was no response. Lydia

and Gemma exchanged baffled glances, then Gemma decided to knock on the door herself. “Cady! Please talk to us! ... Or to Lydia!

... Or to Tess! ... I don't care! But please ... don't lock yourself in that room forever!”, Gemma pleaded desperately.

Finally, the TV was turned off, and they heard whatever Cady had used to barricade her door being pushed aside. But Gemma and

Lydia froze when the door opened. It wasn't Cady standing in front of them, but Tess, whom they hadn't noticed had sneaked out

to look through Cady's window, which she found wide open. She stared at the women in horror.

“Cady's gone!”

Chapter Text

“W-what do you mean, she's gone?!”, Gemma asked Tess, completely stunned, while she and Lydia now looked just as horrified.

Tess waved her arms around awkwardly. “Well... gone!” “N-no, no, no, no! It can't be!”

Gemma dashed past Tess, who was standing in the doorway, and frantically looked under Cady's bed, under her desk, in her closet, and

everywhere else the girl could be hiding in her room, hoping that her daughter was just playing a silly prank on her. But soon Gemma

realized that this was no prank at all.

“N-no, no, no, no, no, no!”

Gemma clutched her hair, paced up and down Cady’s room, and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She almost bumped into Lydia

as she stormed out of Cady’s room and out of the house to shout her name throughout the neighborhood.

“Cadyyyyy!!!!!!”

She ran up and down the street, shouting her name at every intersection, in every alley, at every T-junction, desperately hoping that Cady

would respond to her constant calls, but there was no answer.

“Cady! Cady! Caaaadyyyyyy!!!!!”

Finally, she broke down crying and fell to her knees in the middle of the street, her face buried in her hands. Tess and Lydia approached

her. “She can't be far. We'll find her, I promise you!”, Tess tried to reassure her. “Now get off the street before you get hit by a truck!”

“Would that even matter?”, Gemma asked, crying and sniffling. “Yes, it would! Because Cady needs you! Your daughter needs her mother,

her real mother! More than anything else!", Lydia tried to strengthen the woman's will to live. Tess and Lydia then each took one of

Gemma's arms to make her stand up. Gemma hung her head as if all life had been drained from her, her eyes almost blank after she had

stopped crying. She didn't want to take a step, so Tess and Lydia literally had to drag her off the street.

They stood beside Lydia's car, which was parked behind Gemma's, as Lydia took out her smartphone to call the police. While the therapist

spoke to the man on the phone, Gemma was cared for by her best friend, who did her best to encourage her. But all Gemma heard was a

distant babel of voices, as if all the people around her were suddenly far away, and her vision was blurred, her eyes still blank, as if she

had lost all meaning in life.

It took seven minutes until two police cars arrived, each with two officers and a police dog.

“Hello,” an officer named Mr. Clayford greeted them. “One of you called 911 for help, right? What happened?” “That was me,” Lydia said,

approaching the four officers and their dogs. “A nine-year-old girl ran away from home after an argument. We kept calling her name,

but she must be out of earshot already.” “I understand,” Officer Clayford replied. “This is a very serious matter. May we come in and see

the girl's room?” Gemma felt addressed by the officer's question and finally responded after she had tuned out the world around her.

“Um... y-yes. ... P-please come in!" Officer Clayford, his colleague Officer Chieng, and a police dog followed her to Cady's room, while

the other two, Officer Davis and Officer Alvarez, and the other police dog remained outside the house to see if they could find any small

footprints leading away from Gemma's house.

In Cady's room, Gemma pointed to the window, which was still wide open. “She must have left the room that way. She had locked

herself in since noon, and she couldn't have gone through the door because it was still barricaded when my friend climbed in through

the window,” Gemma explained to them, still completely shaken. “So you think we can rule out kidnapping, Miss?”, Officer Chieng asked.

“Um... yes... I think so. She kept the TV on so I wouldn’t notice if she left. I should have known what she was up to, but my maternal

instincts failed me,” Gemma blamed herself. “We'll find her, I promise ,” Officer Clayford assured her as he let the police dog sniff

Cady's blanket and pillow to pick up her scent. “And you think four officers and two dogs will be enough to find her?” Gemma asked,

skeptical and concerned at the same time. “If we don't find her very soon, we'll call for backup, that's for sure. May we take an item of

clothing she's worn so the other dog can sniff it?” “Um... yes... I'll get you something.”

She rushed out of Cady's room, pacing back and forth as if trying to remember where the laundry room was, and finally made it there

to grab Cady's worn T-shirt from the laundry basket.

The two police officers were already waiting for her in the hallway when she returned. As Gemma made her way to the front door with

the police officers and the dog in tow to rejoin the others waiting outside, she noticed something as she passed the coat rack and shoe

cabinet. “Oh my God! She left the house without shoes and a jacket!”, she exclaimed, clutching her hair again. Indeed, it was fall, and

the occasionally low temperatures could easily lead to hypothermia or at least a cold. Officer Chieng squeezed Gemma’s shoulder to

prevent the woman from having a complete nervous breakdown. “We'll find her soon, ma'am. She'll be fine. Please don't worry.”

Officer Chieng led her outside, along with Officer Clayford and the dog. Everyone else was already waiting for them by the police cars.

“ Apparently, the girl left the house dressed too lightly for the temperatures. We have to find her quickly,” Officer Clayford explained

as he took Cady’s shirt from Gemma and gave it to the other dog to sniff. Tess and Lydia were shocked when they heard this. Shortly

afterwards, both police dogs barked when they picked up Cady's scent in the air and ran down the street to the south.

“ Everybody get in the cars!”, Officer Clayford ordered as he opened the door of the police car and got into the driver’s seat. The others

followed suit, the two police cars following the dogs and Tess and Gemma following in Tess’s car, while Lydia drove her own car.

The dogs stopped at a bus stop where they had lost the scent of Cady, as did the cars. Officer Davis and Officer Alvarez got out of the

cars to investigate. Officer Davis scratched his beard thoughtfully. “Then she must have taken the bus here.” "Do you seriously think a

bus driver wouldn't ask questions when a little girl like her is wearing no shoes and no jacket at this time of year? What if she was

picked up by a child molester here instead?“, Gemma almost shouted at them after rolling down the car window. While Gemma was still

glaring at them , Tess put her hand on her shoulder calmingly. “I don’t think she would go with a stranger. She’s too shy and cautious.

And this road is too busy for anyone to kidnap a child in broad daylight.“ Gemma took a deep breath to calm herself down. ”You're right.

But then why didn't the bus driver report her?“ “Bus drivers deal with the strangest of passengers every day. She probably didn’t stand

out much compared to most others,” Officer Alvarez explained as he scanned the bus schedule. Then he found a bus line that looked

promising and tapped his finger on it. “This bus line has a stop at the edge of a forest. If I were an unhappy child and wanted to be

alone, that’s where I would go.” “Then let’s go there,” Officer Davis replied. “Exactly!”

The police officers opened the trunks so the dogs could jump in, then got back into the police cars and told their colleagues their next

destination. Then the police cars drove off, followed by the two private cars.

Finally, they found the bus stop at the edge of the forest, and the dogs seemed to pick up Cady's scent again. Gemma recognized the

forest as the same one where they had been during the alternative school event that had resulted in the death of a boy. The memory

made her feel queasy. Everyone got out of their cars and watched as the police dogs did their work to find Cady. For a while, things

looked promising as the dogs ran in a certain direction, until the weather suddenly changed and gusts of wind blew through the trees

from several directions. “That's all we needed! The dogs can't track her when the strong wind is blowing her scent around like this!”,

Officer Clayford expressed his fears about the search. The wind was so strong that it even tore branches from the trees, so they had

to watch out not to get hit by them. Then it started to rain heavily, which made the situation even worse. “That's it! We have to call

off the search for today!”, Officer Davis announced. “N-no, no, no! You can't do that! We have to search for her with a large force!

She's been through so much lately! We have to find her!”, Gemma pleaded and protested. "I'm sorry, ma'am. But in these weather

conditions, there's nothing we can do. The forest is huge and the odds are against us. She'll find shelter somewhere. Children are

often better at surviving than adults,“ Officer Chieng tried to reassure her. Gemma clenched her fists. ”But what if the wolves find her

first?!“, she hissed, tears in her eyes. Tess and Lydia both put a hand on Gemma's shoulder. ”We shouldn't assume the worst, okay?

Cady is a smart kid. The wilderness won't get her down,“ Lydia said reassuringly. ”It'll be dark soon. You're staying with me tonight,

and as soon as the sun comes up, we'll keep looking for her until we find her,“ Tess promised her. ”With a large force, as you

requested,” Officer Chieng added. Gemma took a deep breath, then slowly relaxed her fists as she closed her eyes and let her

restrained tears run down her cheeks. Her tears were immediately washed away by the heavy rain pouring down on her face and

any other part of her body. She realized she had no choice. “Okay,” she whispered with her voice trembling.

The officers returned to their precincts, Lydia drove home, and Tess took Gemma to her place.

“You can sleep in my bed tonight and I'll sleep on the couch. That's perfectly fine with me,” Tess said as they entered her small apartment,

both women soaked from head to toe and dripping. “I'm sorry to be a bother,” Gemma apologized as she took off her completely soaked

coat and hung it up to dry. “You don't have to be. You can always get back to me if you need me,” Tess replied with a gentle smile.

“Thanks, Tess,” Gemma said quietly. “You're welcome.”

And there she was, lying in Tess's bed, wearing pajamas her best friend had lent her for the night, with a towel on her pillow because her

hair was still damp. Unable to fall asleep naturally, she stared blankly at the ceiling, waiting for exhaustion to overcome her. Outside, it

was pitch dark, and the fierce wind whipped the rain against the windowpanes. It was just like the night Cady was born, and Gemma

hoped from the bottom of her heart that this wasn't a bad omen and that her daughter would be found safe and sound.

Chapter Text

It was a rainy and stormy night, and Gemma was in the delivery room of the hospital outside her residential town. On the way to the

hospital, the taxi driver had to take a few detours because the storm had toppled numerous trees, which then blocked the streets, so

she ended up in a hospital further away from her home than she had hoped.

When she arrived, the contractions were already very intense, and now she was lying on the delivery bed, surrounded by strangers and

blinded by the bright ceiling lights of the hospital, as she gave birth to her child, screaming and writhing in pain.

Gemma didn't know what was worse: the pain of childbirth or the fact that she was giving birth to the child of a rapist. While she had

been waiting for the taxi, she had sent a text message to her sister Nicole, asking her and her husband to come the next morning to

adopt the baby. In fact, Gemma couldn't wait for this to happen. She couldn't wait for the parasitic unborn child to finally be out of her

womb and out of her sight and mind.

Another shriek of pain escaped Gemma as she felt as if she were being torn apart. “Keep going! You're doing great! I can see the baby's

head! It won't be long now!” ,the obstetrician encouraged her. Gemma wanted to finally get it over with and continued to push, her cries

seeming to get louder each time and her gasps faster. She began to question the obstetrician's definition of “ not long now ” as the

agonizing pain of childbirth went on for another 30 minutes that felt like several hours. “This is it! Come on! Push one more time!”, the

obstetrician announced, already reaching for the baby’s shoulders. Gemma did as she was told, summoning all her remaining strength

to finally push the baby out, screaming at the top of her lungs.

Gemma’s scream faded and was replaced by the cries of a newborn. “Congratulations! It's a girl!”, the delivery nurse said joyfully,

carefully placing the crying newborn on her mother's stomach. Gemma covered her eyes with one of her forearms, her head tilted back,

still gasping for breath from exhaustion.

"Just take her away from me and never bring her back,” she thought, but didn't say it out loud.

Gemma tried to ignore her, but the newborn cried so loudly for its mother's attention that Gemma finally gave in. Slowly, she took her

forearm away from her eyes and looked down at the newborn.

Her eyes widened, she froze, and her breath caught in her throat.

What she saw was not the child of a rapist, it was her own, the most precious thing in the whole wide world.

Carefully, she placed a hand on the tiny body of the newborn, which the delivery nurse had carefully wrapped in a soft pink towel to keep

her warm, and gently stroked her back with her fingers. The little girl soon stopped crying and seemed to fall asleep on her mother's

stomach. The delivery nurse smiled. “You must be very exhausted after such a difficult birth. Let me clean the baby thoroughly and check

that she's healthy. That will give you some time to rest.” “Um... yes... okay,” Gemma replied briefly, overwhelmed by her sudden change

of heart toward the child she had just given birth to.

While the newborn was being cared for by the delivery nurse and obstetrician, Gemma's thoughts raced. Before the birth, Gemma had

always ruled out the possibility of considering the baby her own, but now that she saw the newborn in front of her, her ex-boss, the man

who had raped and abused her, was no longer what she constantly thought about. But Gemma knew she had no choice but to give her

baby up for her sister to adopt. Not only because she had promised Nicole, who couldn't have children, but also because the prosthetics

manufacturer where she used to work had closed down after the CEO was convicted of sexual abuse and no one wanted to take over

from someone who had been accused of such a crime. With no employer willing to hire a pregnant woman, Gemma had to use up almost

all her savings to make ends meet, and now that she was no longer pregnant, she had to find a new job quickly if she didn't want to end

up on skid row. Leaving her daughter to live with her biological aunt and her husband was the only way to ensure she had a carefree

childhood, and that was the only thing that mattered now.  

The delivery nurse returned with the newborn, who was now wearing a light pink onesie that every child received at birth in this hospital.

“Here she is. The little girl missed her mother,” the woman said in childlike language as she handed the baby back to Gemma so she could

hold her daughter in her arms. The newborn was quiet at first, but soon started crying again. “Hey, hey. What's wrong, little one?”, Gemma

asked softly as she gently rocked her little daughter. “She's just very hungry. That's completely normal for a newborn,” the delivery nurse

explained. “She's... oh, um...”, Gemma replied shyly as she realized what that meant. The delivery nurse smiled. “That's perfectly natural.

I can leave to give you some privacy if you'd like.” “Um... no, no... it's fine. You can stay in case I do something wrong,” Gemma replied,

already unbuttoning her hospital gown with one hand while holding her newborn daughter with the other. “Okay. As you wish,” the woman

replied kindly and sat down on a stool next to the delivery bed where Gemma was lying. “Hold her like this so she can latch on better,” she

advised, showing her the ideal breastfeeding position using a lifelike baby doll that was also kept in the delivery room. “Okay.” Gemma

held the newborn as she had been shown, supporting her back, shoulders, and neck. The baby finally latched on. It felt strange, but this

completely natural bond between a mother and her child was also a wonderful experience. “What name did you choose for her?”, the

delivery nurse asked curiously. “Oh, um...” Gemma hesitated to answer. "I gave birth for my sister and her husband, who couldn't have

children of their own. They're the ones choosing a name for her.“ ”Oh, I see. I was wondering why you came here alone, but I thought it

would be rude to ask. Was your sister's husband the sperm donor? I'm asking because I need the names of the biological parents for the

birth certificate." “Um... n-no. He's a cousin of his, but he wants to remain anonymous,” Gemma lied, hoping she wouldn't have to reveal

a name she didn't want to see on the birth certificate. "Okay. That's perfectly fine. I'll take the baby to the newborn nursery as soon as

you're done breastfeeding so you can rest for the rest of the night.“ Gemma nodded in agreement. ”Okay."

Once the newborn was full and had let go of Gemma's breast, Gemma handed it to the delivery nurse, who gently burped her before

taking her to the newborn nursery. Shortly afterwards, Gemma was taken to her hospital room to rest.

However, the peace and quiet was short-lived, as the newborn began to cry incessantly, which also caused other newborns to cry. The

night shift maternity nurse tried everything she could to calm the baby, but neither a baby bottle nor a pacifier could stop the little girl

from crying. Finally, she decided to return the newborn to her mother as a last resort, and who would have thought it would work.

The baby fell fast asleep the moment she was placed on Gemma's chest, lulled by her mother's heartbeat. “I hope you don't mind, but

your little girl just wouldn't stop crying, and I couldn't think of any more ideas to calm her down,” the maternity nurse whispered so as

not to wake the newborn from her deep sleep. “Of course not,” Gemma whispered back, gently stroking her daughter's back. “Great.

Thank you. Good night,” the woman said quietly before leaving the room and closing the door as quietly as possible. Gemma spent the

rest of the night holding her newborn daughter in her arms and letting her sleep on her chest, knowing that in a few hours her sister

and brother-in-law would arrive to sign the adoption papers.

It was around half past ten in the morning when Gemma heard a knock at her door.

“Come in!”

The door opened and Nicole came in with her husband Ryan in tow. The couple froze when they saw that Gemma was in the middle of

breastfeeding. “Um... E-excuse me! I'll wait outside until you're done," Ryan apologized awkwardly and left the room to give her some

privacy and to prevent his wife from accusing him of staring at her sister's breasts, even though he wasn't.

Nicole cleared her throat, not quite sure how to start the conversation as she stood next to Gemma's hospital bed. “So... I didn't expect

you to breastfeed, since you said we should adopt the baby as soon as you gave birth,” Nicole finally said, confused. “Do you want all

the breast milk to go to waste?”, Gemma countered, tilting her head, while the newborn was still latched to her breast. "Um... well...

anyway... um... you know, Gem... Some people want children but can't have them, while others have children and don't want them. I

still can't believe that you had sex with a guy you were only dating briefly without even thinking about contraception, and now you're

giving the baby away because you don't feel like it. For me, adopting my fraternal twin sister's child is the closest thing to real

motherhood, but if I could give birth myself, I wouldn't care about your problem at all," Nicole said reproachfully to Gemma, and those

words hit her like daggers in the chest. Identical or not, the sisters shared their mother's womb and even a baby crib and eventually a

bed when they were children. Inseparable. Gemma didn't know if Nicole would be understanding if she simply told her the truth, that it

was rape and not a one-night stand. But their parents, especially their mother, had bred them to honesty. Now that the lie had already

been told, coming out with the truth would only make things worse.

Nicole called Ryan back into the room after Gemma had finished breastfeeding.

“The man in charge of the adoption will be here in about thirty minutes. He called me while I was waiting outside the door,” Ryan said as

he joined his wife at Gemma's hospital bed. “The birth certificate still needs to be filled out. Have you decided on a name yet?” Gemma

asked them. “Yes. We want to name him Cody,” Nicole replied. “It's a girl...”, Gemma replied, almost speechless, as she couldn't quite

understand why her sister thought she had a boy, even though the newborn was wearing a light pink onesie. “Oh... um,” Nicole replied,

somewhat embarrassed. “I told you we should consider the possibility that she would have a girl, but you were so obsessed with boys'

names,” Ryan criticized his wife. “So you didn't think of any girls' names?”, Gemma asked as she let the newborn sleep on her chest

again. “I suggested a few names, but Nicole rejected them all,” Ryan explained. Gemma noticed that her sister was pondering girls'

names while chewing on her index finger, as she always did when she was pondering. “How about Megan? I think that's a pretty name,”

Gemma finally suggested, because she thought it had a good ring to it. But Nicole looked at her strangely. “Megan? Seriously? That

doesn't even sound like a person's name. ... Oh ... I know! ... Let's just call her Cady.” Gemma's jaw dropped in disbelief, which Nicole

noticed. “Is there a problem?”, she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Uh... no! ... Cody, Cady... What you name your child is your business,”

Gemma claimed, but secretly wished her sister liked the name Megan as much as she did.

Then they heard a knock at the door. It was the man in charge of adoption matters. He entered the room wearing a gray suit and carrying

a black briefcase containing the adoption papers. He was accompanied by a nurse who was in charge of the birth certificate. “Good

morning. I hope I haven't kept you waiting too long,” he said in a rather matter-of-fact voice. The nurse stood next to him and smiled at

them kindly. “First, we need to fill out the birth certificate. You can't adopt a child who doesn't have a name, can you?”, the nurse finally

said in a friendly voice, approaching them with a clipboard on which the blank birth certificate was attached. “The name was Gemma

Forrester, right?”, the woman asked as she began to fill out the blanks. “Um... y-y-yes... Gemma Forrester is my name,” Gemma replied,

almost absent-minded in the face of the fact that her daughter would soon be taken away from her. She looked down at the newborn

sleeping on her chest and gently brushed her thumb over the downy scalp of her little head.

“So... what's the little girl's name?”, the nurse asked after writing down Gemma's name. “Cady,” Nicole replied tersely. “Very good. She will

be registered as Cady Forrester on the birth certificate. Her last name can be changed after the adoption,” the nurse explained as she

wrote down the newborn's birth name.

After finishing her work, the nurse left the room to check on other patients, leaving them alone with the man in the suit. Without saying a

word and with a stern expression on his face, he filled out the adoption papers and finally had Nicole and Ryan sign them. Once

everything was settled, he bid them goodbye and left.

"I think it's time for us to go now. We have a few last things to do and need to exchange the baby clothes from blue for pink," Nicole said,

excusing their early departure and lifting the newborn under the shoulders to take her from Gemma's chest. As if she understood that she

was about to be separated from her birth mother, Cady began to scream and clasped Gemma's thumb with her tiny hand as if it were her

lifeline. "Come on! She's not your mother! I am," Nicole hissed as her patience ran out and she pulled harder until the girl was forced to

let go.

Gemma struggled to suppress her emotions as she watched her sister walk to the door with the crying newborn in her arms. Ryan seemed

to notice the grief-stricken look on Gemma's face, but said nothing. He just gave her a sympathetic look, waved goodbye, then followed

his wife out the door and closed it behind them.

From the window, Gemma watched them walk to their car, still able to hear Cady screaming from where she stood, watching the most

precious thing in her life being taken away from her.

Chapter Text

It was the dawn of a new day, and fortunately, the storm from the night before had passed, which made the search for the nine-year-old

easier for everyone involved, even though the forest was now shrouded in a light mist.

Gemma, Tess, and Lydia met at the spot on the edge of the forest where the search for Cady had to be called off the evening before.

Worry for her daughter had made it almost impossible for Gemma to sleep. She had slept for maybe two or three hours after falling

asleep from exhaustion until the sun began to rise. The only thing keeping her awake now was her desperate desire to hold Cady in

her arms again, and she knew she would never let her go.

The police officers who had started the search the day before arrived with twelve colleagues and nine police dogs in six police vans.

Officer Clayford had kept Cady's worn shirt and had it ready when the dogs were let out of the vans. It didn't take long for all the

police dogs to pick up Cady's scent in the air and run straight into the forest. “Everyone follow!”, Officer Clayford ordered, and

everyone did as they were told, including himself.

Gemma ran as fast as her legs could carry her, despite her lack of sleep, driven by her maternal love, she followed the dogs running

ahead of her through the mist.

Near the middle of the forest, the police dogs surrounded a dilapidated tree house that had been built on a tall old oak tree and

began to bark.

Gemma was the first to arrive, but at first she remained hunched over, supporting herself with both hands on her thighs and gasping

for air. By the time Tess, Lydia, and the police officers joined her, she had gradually managed to catch her breath.

The dogs were still staring up at the treehouse, wagging their tails and barking occasionally, so it had to be where the girl was hiding.

It was a convenient place for a child to hide.

“Cady?!”, Gemma called up to the treehouse, hoping for a response, but there was none. Gemma waited a moment before calling her

daughter's name again. “Cady?!” Again, there was no answer. Everyone was worried. Was the girl okay? Was she even still alive?

But then they heard a faint rumbling from the treehouse. Something or someone was moving around inside. Then Lydia tried to get

through to her. “Cady! If you're up there, please answer! Your mother is so sick with worry that she hardly slept last night. And I'm

pretty sure you didn't get much sleep either! Please come home to her! You are a family, no matter what the circumstances! Your

mother loves you more than you can imagine!”

Cady finally appeared at the window wearing nothing but her home wear, which was too light for the season to wear outside.

“Just leave me alone! All of you!” Gemma shook her head. “You know I can't and won't do that.” But then the girl climbed into the

window frame, stood barefoot on the edge, but still clung to the frame. “Get out of here, or I'll jump!”, the girl threatened with

deadly seriousness. Not only the three women, especially Gemma, but also the seasoned police officers were horrified by the girl's

threat. A jump from that height could actually kill her or at least cause serious injury, even if someone tried to catch her. Gemma felt

as if a noose were tightening around her neck, but she had to stop her daughter from jumping. “C-Cady, please listen to me!”, Gemma

pleaded, the sheer desperation audible in her voice. "You can stop pretending you care about me, Gemma! You didn't care about me

when I was born, so you gave me to your sister! You only showed up often enough for me to know you existed, and if your sister and

her husband hadn't died, you would never have cared for me!", Cady accused Gemma of abandoning her. Her daughter's harsh words

stung almost too much to bear, and Gemma clenched one hand over her chest, fighting back tears. “That's not true! Cady, I know it's

hard for you to understand, but...” “I don't want to hear your excuses!”, the girl hissed, interrupting Gemma. “I don't want to see

your face anymore! If you don't get out of my sight right now, I'll jump!”

Everyone present was genuinely concerned that the girl would carry out her threats and actually commit suicide, or at least

attempt to. The police officers had already prepared for the worst. None of them were able to empathize with a child who was

threatening suicide in order to dissuade her. Gemma knew she had no choice but to back off. She slowly stepped back and moved

to the other side of the oak tree, out of Cady's sight. Tess and Lydia, on the other hand, stayed where they were and did their best

to get the girl to change her mind. “Cady, please... don't make it worse,” Lydia said insistently. “You have no idea how much you

mean to Gemma. You've always been her everything,” Tess added, noticing that Gemma was about to climb the rotten ladder to

the tree house, but continuing to focus on Cady so as not to draw her attention to it.

“I'm not going back to her! I'd rather go to a children's home!”, the girl shouted again, unimpressed by everything Tess and Lydia

said to her. Meanwhile, Gemma had climbed the ladder and was now crawling on her hands and knees toward her daughter, who

had her back turned to her. The floorboards of the tree house were so rotten that they creaked with every movement, but thanks

to Tess and Lydia distracting her, Cady was too busy to notice. Nevertheless, Gemma continued to crawl slowly and carefully,

shifting her weight cautiously so that the floorboards wouldn't creak too loudly and alert Cady to her presence. Finally, she reached

the window where Cady was standing. Cady was still busy yelling at the people below.

“You're only telling me not to jump because none of you wants to feel guilty!”

At that moment, Gemma wrapped her arms around Cady's waist and pulled her out of the window frame. Tess, Lydia, and the police

officers were able to breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.

“Let me go! Let me goooooo!!!!” Cady was kicking and flailing and screaming, and she hit Gemma in the nose with her elbow,

making her bleed, but the woman didn’t let go and pulled her even closer. The girl fell silent as her mother pressed her to her chest

and her steady heartbeat instantly calmed her. A tear escaped from Gemma's eye and fell onto Cady's cheek, whereupon Cady

stared up at her in amazement, her eyes wide open. Gemma's voice was shaky and little more than a whisper. "I rarely showed up

because I couldn't bear to see someone else raising my daughter and pretending she was their own child. I wish I could have raised

you myself, but back then I was barely getting by and wanted to give you a carefree childhood. All the years I didn't raise you, all

the years I pretended to be nothing more than your aunt, were wasted years. I'm glad you found out for yourself, because I would

never have had the courage to tell you the truth. From now on, I promise you that I will never let you down like that again. I'm not

asking you to forgive me for denying you, but I want you to know that I will do everything I can to be someone worthy of being

called your mother."

Gemma's emotional speech made Cady tear up, and she buried her face in the crook of her neck. “I'm sorry I caused you so much

grief,” the girl sobbed. “It's okay,” Gemma replied, also sobbing, as she rested her chin on her daughter's head and caressed her

back soothingly.

Then suddenly the floor began to creak louder than before, the rotten floorboards giving way under the weight of an adult. The tree

house began to collapse. There was no escape, so Gemma held her daughter close and shielded her.

The people at the root of the oak tree realized what was happening. “Everyone step back!”, Officer Alvarez shouted. Two of his

colleagues had to drag Tess and Lydia, who were frozen with fear, away from the tree. They made it out of harm’s way just in time

as the entire treehouse collapsed like a house of cards and crashed to the ground. Gemma and Cady were buried underneath.

Tess put her hands over her mouth in horror. “Oh my God!”

The police dogs climbed onto the pile of rotten wood and tried to sniff them out. One of the dogs barked when they found them.

All the police officers helped to rescue the woman and her daughter from the wreckage, while Lydia and Tess stood frozen in place.

When Gemma and Cady were finally freed, both appeared to be unconscious.

Cady slowly blinked her eyes open, groaned, and stirred when she felt two dogs nudging her with their cold, wet noses. She found

herself in the protective embrace of her mother, who had shielded her from serious injury. She had only a few scratches and perhaps

some bruises that would become visible later. Gemma, on the other hand, had a head wound that was bleeding profusely. Terrified,

the girl pushed the woman's arm away to sit up and look at her. “M-Mom?”, she whispered with a trembling voice. But Gemma

showed no signs of life. No groaning. No stirring.

“Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance!”, Tess cried frantically.

Cady kept tugging at Gemma's sleeve, trying in vain to wake her up as she continued to call out for her.

“Mom?! MOM???!!!! MOOOMMMM!!!!!!!!!!”