Sara repeated the same words again and again.
"I don't know. They blindfolded me. I didn't see anything. I don't remember."
Her silence—her evasion—gnawed at Nick's patience like a blade on stone. Deep down, he understood her trauma. But it was hard not to feel the weight of helplessness. Sometimes it felt as if she were mocking him, testing his limits. He had to summon immense strength to keep his frustration from boiling over. To keep from raising his voice. To keep from showing his desperation.
Because Nick didn't want revenge.
He wanted to protect her.
He wanted to save her from a life lived in fear—fear that one day, they would come again, dragging her into the shadows.
But Sara couldn't see that. Not the way he did.
To her, Nick was digging into dangerous places—places that had almost killed her—and it terrified her. She didn't want justice. She wanted peace. She wanted silence. She wanted to forget.
They were in the mansion now—safe behind reinforced walls, surrounded by loyal staff. Nick had turned their home into a fortress. The butler, the nanny, every servant was handpicked and trusted. Sara felt it. She saw the layers of protection. But even so, she knew it all relied on one thing:
Nick's life.
If anything happened to him, it would all fall apart.
And she… she wouldn't be able to protect anything.
And Nick couldn't see that. Or wouldn't.
Every time he asked her to remember, to testify, to help him destroy the agency, he said the same thing:
"I just want to help you, Sara."
And every time, the same thought echoed inside her:
If you really want to help me, Nick… then walk away from the agency and never look back.
The last five days had been difficult. Sara had been sick—nausea, exhaustion, weakness. Nick brought her to Adam for tests, worried she was relapsing.
But the results told a different story.
She was pregnant.
One month along.
Two months had passed since she returned to Nick's arms. During the years of abuse, the men who hurt her had used protection. She'd never conceived. But now she carried new life—and her first instinct wasn't joy.
It was dread.
She couldn't bring a child into danger again.
Nick, however, was glowing.
He was radiant with happiness, his entire being alight with joy as he brought her home.
He couldn't stop smiling. His voice trembled with emotion.
—"Sara, my love… this is the best news. We're having another baby. And this time, you'll be there from the beginning."
Sara didn't speak.
She didn't smile. She couldn't. Her heart felt like it had been trapped in ice.
Nick noticed. And as soon as they entered the house, he guided her gently into his study, needing to talk before the twins came bounding into the room.
—"What's wrong, Sara?" he asked, closing the door behind them. "Aren't you happy? Doesn't it bring you joy to know that another life is growing inside you?"
Sara lowered her gaze.
—"Of course I'm happy," she said quietly. "Of course I am, Nick."
—"Then why don't I see it?" he whispered. "I need you with me, Sara. I can't do this alone."
Her voice cracked.
—"Then stop chasing them. Stop pursuing the agency. Let it go. And maybe then… I can breathe again. Maybe then I can trust you again."
—"You don't trust me?" he asked, stunned.
—"No, Nick… it's not that. It's that you're putting us all in danger. They don't forgive. They don't forget."
Nick stepped back, visibly shaken.
—"You think we're in danger because of me?"
—"Because of your war," she corrected, her voice rising. "You're opening wounds I barely managed to close. You want to help—but you're dragging us back toward hell."
Nick swallowed hard.
—"They're still out there. Torturing girls, Sara. Destroying lives. You know what they do."
—"And what did it get me, last time I spoke out? Huh? What did honesty get me?" she snapped, tears forming in her eyes. "Do you remember? I told you everything—and they took me back. I was tortured again, Nick! That's what I got for speaking out!"
She broke down then, sobbing into his chest. Nick held her, even as she tried to push him away, trembling with anger and grief.
—"I'm sorry," he whispered into her hair. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I've regretted it every day for seven years."
Sara clung to him now, breathless with sorrow.
—"I looked for you every day," he continued. "And while I searched, I prepared. I made plans. And I've been training Anthony too."
She pulled back, blinking.
—"Training… Anthony? For what?"
—"To protect his sister," Nick replied, as though it were the most obvious truth in the world. "The way I protect you. And Ana—she's being trained too. Not for combat. But to recognize danger. To never fall into their hands like you did."
Sara froze.
There was love in his words, but also fear. And responsibility. As if the world would never be safe again.
Nick placed his hand over her stomach, gently caressing it.
—"We'll protect them. You, me, and Anthony. You're my family. All of you."
Sara closed her eyes. The word protection now felt like a cage. A warning. A sign that fear would always follow them.
She reached for his hand, keeping it on her belly. Her voice was soft.
—"Nick… do you really believe this can end well?"
—"Yes," he said without hesitation. "But only if you trust me."
She nodded slowly, whispering,
—"I love you, Nick. I love you so much… but I'm still afraid."
He brushed her black hair away from her face, tenderly.
—"I couldn't live a day without you, Sara."
Then he asked again,
—"Who are the leaders of that agency? Just give me a name."
Her lips trembled.
She looked into his eyes, and then away.
—"I don't know," she whispered, tears spilling down her cheeks. "They blindfolded me…"
Nick took a deep breath.
—"They blindfolded you. I see."
He pulled her into his arms again, holding her tight against his chest, vowing silently that no one—no one—would ever take her from him again.
Sara wrapped her arms around him and broke down once more, her tears soaking into the shoulder of the man she loved more than anything in the world.
She wanted to be free.
But fear still owned pieces of her.
And Nick… would spend the rest of his life breaking those chains.