Page 270 of Knot What I Expected

“No. No, he has soccer. You’re lying.”

“Listen.”

There’s a rustling sound. Then, I hear the phone being passed to someone.

“Mommy? Mommy?”

My world fucking ends.

“Matteo!”

“Mommy! I’m scared⁠—”

His voice sounds frightened.

My baby. My sweet boy.

“Matteo, baby, Mommy’s here. Are you hurt? Tell me if you're⁠—”

Someone else hushes him.

A male voice. Familiar. Painfully familiar.

I freeze.

No. It can’t be.

“Nando?”

Silence. Then a muttered curse.

My stomach drops.

“Oh my God.”

My hand flies over my mouth.

“Nando, did you give us up? Did you fucking sell me and your nephew out?”

The betrayal hurts almost as much as the fear.

My brother. The one person from that life I kept trusting.

The person I’ve been sending money to month after month because I believed he was the reason Ethan hadn’t found us.

A harsh laugh comes through the receiver.

“Your brother is a fucking degenerate. Of course he gave you up, Gabby.”

My eyes burn.

All that money.

All those nights at Dick’s.

All those double shifts.

Every aching footstep.