Chapter 23

Stella gently patted Olivia's back, her tone soft and calm. "Hey sweetie, try to think really hard—do you remember who took you?" Olivia tilted her head, little eyebrows scrunching up as she tried to recall. After a pause, she said with a sob in her voice, "Auntie Stella, I don't really remember... I just recall you told me we were gonna play hide-and-seek, so I went to hide... but then I waited and waited, and you never came. Then... someone showed up and took me away." The second she said that, Isabelle jumped right in. Her eyes instantly welled up with tears as she cried out in a grievance-filled voice. "Stella, how could you do this to my Olivia? She's just a kid, so innocent... If you've got a problem with me, just come at me instead." As she spoke, she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, looking as fragile and pitiful as a porcelain doll in the rain. Anyone watching would've felt sorry for her. "It's all my fault... I must've done something wrong to upset you. Please, Auntie Ste