Dante looked devastated. "I can't watch you go back to prison. I can't lose you again."
"You might not have a choice."
"There's always a choice. We could run. Leave the country. Start over somewhere the DA can't touch us."
"And abandon Sofia? Rosa? Everyone? Live as fugitives?"
"If it means keeping you free yes."
I went to him, took his hands. "I love you for wanting to protect me. But running isn't the answer. We tried running from our past and it caught up anyway. The only way forward is through."
"Through might mean prison."
"Then we face that together. But we face it as people we can be proud of. Not as criminals running from consequences."
He pulled me close, and I felt him shaking. "I'm scared."
"Me too. But we've survived worse."
"Have we?"
"We've survived being sold. Building an empire. Losing it. Prison. Exposure. We can survive this too."
The next morning, Caroline's article hit.
"Prosecution or Persecution? DA Considers Charging Trafficking Victims' Rescuers"
