Faith

Benson and I enter the Intensive Care Unit waiting room and see Detective Kidwell with crutches. He stands when he sees us come in.

He shakes Benson's hand and then turns towards me. He gives me a one-arm hug.

"What the hell happened?" I ask the detective.

"Let's sit down." He waves his hand towards the chairs.

Benson and I sit and look at Detective Kidwell expectantly.

"Where do I start?" The detective takes a moment before continuing. "I had called the Miller home, and Mrs. Miller was not there. Mr. Miller gave me her cellphone number and the name of the carrier. When she didn't answer her phone, I had the carrier ping her location. It brought us to Old Town to her cousin's home. We saw a four-door sedan that resembled the vehicle that was in the video of Grace's abduction. We went upstairs to her apartment and knocked on the door. Instead of answering the door, Mrs. Miller opted to leave out of a window and jump off the porch roof."

My eyes widen, listening to the detective give us the play-by-play of how they found Grace.

The detective resumes. "Luckily, we had an officer watching the back of the home. He was able to detain her. Unluckily, a step collapsed when I landed on it, and I sprained my ankle. Once she left the apartment, I got permission and the key from her cousin to enter the apartment. When I entered, I saw nothing except one door that someone locked from the outside." He pauses, and I can tell he struggles to contain his emotions.

"I saw the key hanging on the door frame and opened the door to find Grace lying in the bathtub. She was passed out and emaciated."

"When can we see her?" I ask anxiously.

Detective Kidwell sighs, "You can see her after you speak to the doctor, but I will tell you that your sister is a shell of herself."

"Did Leigh tell you why she did this?" I needed to know.

"All I know is that she blames her husband. She said that if he could stop loving Grace and love her, she would have left Grace alone," he explains.

Benson has been very quiet until now. "That's crazy."

Both Detective Kidwell and I look at Benson.

The detective speaks, "Yes, she's not in her right mind."

"Are you sure that Jeremy isn't involved in this?" Benson inquires.

"All that I can say is that their marriage was never a marriage of love. Mr. Miller felt obligated because he thought that Leigh was pregnant," the detective reveals. "However, Mr. Miller took a lie detector test this afternoon and passed. I don't feel that he's involved in any way."

I need to see my sister, so I speak up. "I need to see my sister, please!"

"Of course, but her doctor wanted to talk to you first." Detective Kidwell stands, and Benson and I stand with him when we see a doctor enter the waiting area.

"Are you Grace Henson's family?" he asks.

"Yes, I'm her sister, Faith," I reply.

"I just wanted to let you know before you go in and see Grace that she will be unresponsive. I thought it would be best for her healing process to put her into a medically induced coma. While her injuries are not life-threatening, she had severe malnutrition, and I'm afraid it's affecting her heart. We aim to get her nutrition up to par and hope her heart is not permanently damaged."

"Are you saying that Leigh, her abductor, was starving my sister to death?" I ask, feeling sick to my stomach at the savage treatment of Grace.

The doctor nods. "I'm afraid so. Or she was giving her minimal food that was unbalanced in nutrients. You're welcome to visit her. We ask that you have no more than two visitors in at a time."

We're finally going to see my sister.

The doctor leaves, and Detective Kidwell escorts Benson and me to Grace's room. He leaves us to enter alone. Benson takes my hand. Nothing prepares me for seeing the woman lying in the bed before me. She's been beaten and bruised. She's a frail woman with dirty, matted brown hair. Her sunken cheeks are a contrast to her swollen, bruised eyes.

"That woman is not my sister," I whisper to Benson. He squeezes my hand as we take another step closer.

The room was dark except for the sunlight from behind the blinds and the many machines attached to the woman. I walk closer with Benson by my side, and I can't help but gasp. My sister, my twin, is unrecognizable. If it weren't for the scar across her forehead that she received when she was two years old and fell headfirst into the coffee table, I wouldn't have believed that this woman was Grace.

I take a deep breath to reign in my emotions. I sit in the chair next to Grace's bed. Benson never leaves my side or releases my hand. I gently take Grace's lifeless hand into my free hand and bend over to tenderly kiss her battered forehead.

I get close to her ear and whisper to her. "I'm here, Gracie. You're safe now. All you have to do now is to get better. I know how strong you are. Your strength has gotten you through this nightmare. I promise no one is going to hurt you again."

I hear Benson's phone buzz. He looks at the message and then leans down to tell me that Thomas and Liza are here. Since Grace can only have two visitors at a time, he will leave me so Thomas can come in. I nod to let him know that I understand. It's hard to let Benson go, and I know it's killing him to leave my side in this situation, but my brother needs to see that his sister is alive.

Benson quietly leaves the room, and a moment later, Thomas comes in. Tears are streaming down his face as he approaches the other side of Grace's bed. He reaches down and takes her other hand into his. The look on his face breaks my heart, although I'm sure my face mirrors his.

"Gracie, Thomas is here." I nod towards my brother, encouraging him to speak.

He clears his throat. "Hey, Gracie. I'm here for you, baby sister. We missed you so damn much! The kids have been asking about you. They miss you too, Gracie. Your only job now is to concentrate on getting better."

As much as I tried to stop the tears from flowing, they had a mind of their own. On the one hand, I was so damn happy to have my sister back. On the other hand, it breaks my heart to know how much she suffered at the hands of Leigh.

I'm not sure how long Thomas and I sat there quietly, letting the return of our sister sink in. My phone buzzes. I refuse to let go of Grace's hand, so I use one hand to open my purse and look for my phone. It is a text from Liza, How is she?

I wouldn't say I like leaving Grace, but I can only imagine what Liza is going through, knowing she's so close to Grace. I kiss Grace's hand and stand up. Thomas looked up at me, confused. I mouth Liza to him, and he nodded in understanding.

I leave the room, and Benson is at my side in seconds. "Babe, what's wrong?"

I realize I have swollen eyes from my endless tears in the last hour. "I'm fine, Benson. I just wanted to give Liza some time with Grace."

Liza smiles through her tears. "Faith, I didn't expect you to come out. I just needed to know how she is."

"I know, Liza." I smiled. "You need to see her as much as I did. Go ahead in."

She hugs me and disappears behind Grace's door.

I look up at Benson, and he now has his arm protectively around my shoulders. "Can we please go grab a coffee? It's going to be a long night."

"Of course, Babe. Anything you need, I'm not going anywhere."

*****