as Astrid walked out through the automatic doors of Whole Foods carry
without a trace of makeup, her striking features st
taxi, something soft and warm slammed into her
dren's dress was craning her neck up, her red-rimmed eyes br
and big, grape-like eyes full of water. She
per bag nearly slipped from her grip, and s
ie, the "illegitimate daughter" Bartholomew had
in her chest, Astrid squatted down and t
e the wrong person.
fat teardrops pattering onto A
ng! You are my Mommy
h would Bartholomew keep her photo a
g it up to a child's nonsense, and reached out
Why are you out her
d jutted out her l
wanted to hit me. The bodyguard unc
immediately thought of Cristen, her bro
n black suits searching frantically around the s
men, but looking at Kallie trembling like a wet kitte
oncrete, lifted Kallie with one arm, and walked over t
ck, greedily breathing in the faint scent of orange blosso
them to come pick you up," Astrid said, pulli
darted around before she
.. Daddy's phone n
her temples
nd let the police officers
ked. She burst into loud wails, her two sm
ce will send me back
d in their tracks, shooting disapproving glar
tracksuit marched over an
ou make a little g
trid could only awkwardly pat
no police.
ith tears still hanging on her eyela
rner spotted them on the bench and sprinted over
tepped in front of Ka
you to th
in front waved his hand impatiently. "That's none
yes narrowing. "Are you her family? Her fa
d something about being "sent by the family," the other just
abbed at Kallie's arm. The girl shrieked and buried herself in Astri
g anymore-they wer
d Kallie was screaming that they worked for the "bad auntie." If she h
und, and dived into the back seat of a yel
ollar bills against the back of the driver's headrest, and the
hild and pulled out her phone with the other
/1/135453/coverbig.jpg?v=d18e02a3663aca3471ccf29e24d3fb67&imageMogr2/format/webp)