Chapter 40

Vladimir and Svetlana share a look before Vladimir sits forward. Clasping his hands together and rests his elbows on his knees. "It was the night of our fundraiser for helping homeless shelters when it all happened. We left the two of you at home since we were not planning to be there too long. About an hour after we got there, we received a call that Nick was locked into a closet and you were gone. Your babysitter had been knocked out and locked into the closet with Nick. When we arrived home, we found no trace of you. We looked everywhere for you but came up empty handed. We never stopped looking for you until today. Everyone kept telling us that you were most likely dead but we didn't believe that. We just knew you were alive. We could feel it," Vladimir says as he holds Svetlana's hand. I can tell just by looking at the two of them that this has been weighing heavily on them for a long time.