Shonee's POV

In less than forty minutes, Jordin and I arrived at the park.

Vincent was already there, searching the premises.

Dusk had begun to set in and with each passing second, I grew increasingly anxious about where Mirasol could be.

"Any sign of her?" I asked in a voice thick with worry as I hurried over to Vincent.

Slowly, he shook his head, eyes bloodshot, tie loose around his neck as if he'd pulled at it over and over again. My heart went out to him. He looked like he could pass out from sheer exhaustion and worry at any moment from now.

My eyes scanned the park.

The colours of twilight covered everything, casting long shadows over the benches, picnic tables and the playground. A rough breeze rustled through the trees, somewhat hinting at rain. The air was thick with it, and in the distance, two children's laughter echoed faintly from the edge of the playground—though the park was mostly empty now, just a handful of stragglers heading for the exit.

If we don't find Mirasol before nightfall, I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight, and neither will Vincent.

As I scanned the area a second time, I noticed a security guard, probably in his early twenties, walking by. He was wearing a navy-blue uniform and juggling a bunch of keys in his hand.

I quickly jogged in his direction. "Hi, excuse me!"

He stopped, head turning to me with an expression of curiosity on his face. "Evening Miss. Just a heads-up, we're about to lock the park gates soon," he said, glancing between me, Vincent and Jordin.

"I know, but please, have you seen this girl?" I quickly pulled out my phone and showed him a picture of Mirasol.

The guard's face softened slightly as he examined the picture. "Yeah... I saw her here, I think about an hour ago."

"Really?" Vincent jerked forward, his hand instinctively clutching the guard's arm. "Where is she now?"

The guard frowned, then pulled himself away from Vincent to scratch the back of his head. "I don't know. She was by the swing set when I first noticed her, but she took off before I could ask her anything. Thought maybe she was with someone." He shrugged apologetically.

My heart just dropped.

Vincent's shoulders sagged as he ran a hand through his hair. "Fuuckk!"

"Hey, hey calm down, ok," Jordin urged. "It's not what we were expecting, but at least we know she was here. Now we just have to think like her and figure out where she'd head to next."

Just then, my ringtone blared out of the phone in my hand with Fred's name flashing on the screen. I honestly didn't feel like talking to him given the situation I was in right now. We hadn't spoken to each other since the Grand Opening event at the art gallery, and he was probably just calling to catch-up. I was tempted to hit the red button, but at the last minute, I changed my mind and answered. "Hey, Fred."

"Shonee, hi," he greeted. "Where are you?"

"Umm..." I sighed, not really sure how to respond. "It's...it's a long story, but I'm at Fallon Park looking for Mirasol."

"Funny you should mention that cuz she's right here."

I paused out of surprise. "Wait, Mirasol is with you?"

Jordin and Vincent drew closer, both of them eager to hear what Fred had to say.

"Yeah," he responded. "I was just about to close up the gallery and she just showed up out of nowhere, saying she was looking for you."

The relief that coursed through my body right now was just...overwhelming. Seriously, I don't think I've ever felt anything like this before. "Oh my God... Fred, thank you so much! Please, keep her there. Don't let her leave. I'm on my way."

Without waiting for his response, I ended the call and turned towards the car, barely able to contain my relief. "Guys, c'mon. She's at the NYC Art Gallery with Fred. We need to get there right away."

We hurried into the car, adrenaline and anticipation pumping through every nerve as we made our way across the city. After what felt like a lifetime, we finally arrived at the gallery.

With Vincent right behind me and Jordin following, I pushed past the sliding doors, into the cool, air-conditioned area. Fred was sitting with Mirasol on one of the gallery benches, offering her a juice box.

"Mirasol!" I called out.

Her little face lit up as she spotted us, and she sprang to her feet, running towards us. "Shonee! Daddy!"

Dropping to my knees, my arms opened wide as she barreled into me, and I held her tight, feeling the tears slip down my cheeks. "Oh my God, I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." My little girl mumbled into my bosom, making me laugh. The relief of finally having her in my arms was beyond words. It was just... an overwhelming wave of love and gratitude.

Vincent knelt beside us, wrapping his arms around both of us in a complete circle.

For a moment, the three of us just held each other, caught in the warmth of finally being together again with Mirasol safe in our arms.

******

Three hours.

Mirasol had only been missing for roughly three hours, but it had thrown every ounce of my world into chaos. So much so that I refused to let her out of my sight, even when we got home.

So, it turned out that right after her violin classes, Mirasol didn't go up to her room like Gerta had thought. She immediately took off, making sure that she wasn't seen and went straight to the park in hopes of finding me there. When she didn't, she played with a number of the kids until their parents came for them. Left alone, she then wandered off from the park to the art gallery.

Hearing the entire story had me thanking my lucky stars that nothing bad had happened to her. This was New York. There was practically danger in every corner for a five-year-old and I was just so glad that we managed to find her on time.

After dinner, I took my little girl straight to the showers because her hair was a mess and she smelt like a high school jock's gym bag.

As I gently peeled off her clothes, my eyebrows immediately dipped low at the sight of the dark bruises marring her delicate skin. There was one on the inner part of her arm, a purplish mark that looked like she had been gripped far too hard. Another one was along her ribcage, and a faint red streak along her leg.

"Mirasol, sweetie..." I paused, running a hand over the bruise on her side. "What...what happened here? How did you get these?"

Mirasol looked down, her tiny shoulders sagging as she whispered, "Nancy..."

"Nancy?" At the mention of her name, the anger within me surged.

"She got really mad at me yesterday because I didn't want to have dinner with her. She pushed me and kicked me really hard. It hurt a lot."

"But Mirasol, why didn't you tell your dad or Gerta about this?"

"Nancy said if I do that, she'll take away all my toys," she mumbled.

Another threat.

"I became afraid of her and didn't want her to kick me again today so... I left to look for you."

My chest tightened. That evil, vile bitch! How could she do this to such a sweet, innocent child? Her own daughter? Quickly, I pulled Mirasol into my arms, holding her close. "I'm so, so sorry, baby," I whispered into her hair. "It won't happen again. I'm never going to leave your side, ok?"

"Promise?" She pulled back to hold out her pinkie finger, and I hooked mine against hers.

"I promise on my life."

Mirasol nodded, then her little arms wrapped around my neck, and I held her tightly.

"C'mon, let's get you ready for bed."

In the next passing minutes, I bathed and tended to her bruises then went about her usual bedtime routine of tucking her in and reading her a bedtime story. The moment she fell asleep, which wasn't long because she was exhausted from all the walking she did today, I laid a gentle kiss on her forehead and quietly stepped out of her room.

The moment my hand left the door handle, I knew what I had to do next. There was absolutely no way I was going to let this incident slide. Nancy had crossed the line. Mirasol had only been with her for four days and she was already hitting her? Someone needed to teach that woman a lesson.

I hurried down the stairs in search of her. I hadn't seen her since she left Jordin's apartment with her mum earlier today, but I knew she'd be coming home or was home already because Vincent had sent her a text, letting her know that we had found Mirasol.

I first walked into the living room. But all I met was an empty space until my nose picked up on that distinctive, awful smell that came with a burning cigarette. Since no one smokes in this house, I knew exactly who it was. I followed the scent to the patio to find Nancy seated on one of the patio chairs, legs propped up on the table with thin lines of smoke surrounding her.

"So! The legendary nanny makes an outstanding comeback." She turned to me with a spiteful grin. "Wonderful stunt you pulled today. Convincing everyone that you didn't know where Mirasol was, but the moment you were involved in the search, voila! Here's Mirasol. I've gotta hand it to you, it was a brilliant plan to show your relevance."

"Really, Nancy?" I crossed my arms. "I didn't plan any of this."

"C'mon, it's just the two of us here," she drawled before taking another drag of her cigarette. "Why don't you just admit that it was a setup. You had your friend hold on to Mirasol, then when you noticed that I'd gone bonkers, you decided to let her go, making it seem like you saved the day."

"Stop it, Nancy. You know very well that this has nothing to do with me," I said firmly. "Mirasol left because she's afraid you, and after what you did to her yesterday, she had enough reason to."

Nancy's eyes widened and she took her legs off the table. Her reaction only fueled my confidence.

"Yeah. She told me about what you did to her, how you kicked and pushed her just because she didn't want to have dinner with you. How could you? She's a five-year-old kid! How could you beat up a five-year-old kid?" I quizzed, making sure every word of mine made her see how much of a monster she was. "That's so low, even for you. When I first moved here, Mirasol gave me a hard time, but I never for once hit her."

"Don't compare yourself to me!" She countered, eyebrows descending into a deep frown as she stood up. "I'm Mirasol's mother! I can do whatever I want with her."

"Mother?" I laughed bitterly and stepped closer. "No, you're not a mother, Nancy. You're a bully. And I can't believe I was ever scared of you and your pathetic threats."

Her face immediately hardened and her hand came flying in my direction, ready to slap me, but I was faster. Before she could even touch me, I grabbed her arm and twisted it so hard behind her back that she fell to her knees, dropping the cigarette in the process.

"Ah!" Nancy cried out, her body jolting forward as I held her firm.

"Shut up!" I growled in her ear. "Now, let this be the last time you ever lay a hand on Mirasol. If you hurt her again, I'll do whatever it takes to bring you down. Even if it means killing you," I snarled, quoting the exact, same words she'd used to threaten me in the bathroom the other day. Of course, there was no way I could go through with something like that. I just said it to instill some form of fear in her, and she must've picked up on it because Nancy threw her head back with a scoff.

"Ha! You're bluffing."

Without a hint of hesitation, I wrenched her arm back further, forcing another cry from her. "Care to test that?"

She gulped loudly. "Ok, ok, fine! Just...let go." Her breathing quickened.

I released her, and she fell to the ground, clutching her arm as she glared at me. I held her gaze, unflinching, before noticing the lit cigarette on the floor next to her.

In one swift motion, I crushed the stick with my shoe, making sure every bit of it turned to nothing but flat dust.

Nancy's eyes narrowed at me.

"No smoking on the premises," I simply said, then turned and walked back inside, leaving her there on the patio.