That night, I couldn't sleep.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about those photographs. Those frightened faces.
"What are you thinking?" Dante asked in the darkness.
"That I have to help. Even if it's risky. Even if it costs us. I have to try."
"I was afraid you'd say that."
"Are you going to try to stop me?"
"Would it work if I did?"
"No."
"Then I'm not going to waste my energy trying. But Isabella, if we do this if we really do this we do it smart. We use every resource we have. We don't take unnecessary risks. And we protect our family first. Always."
"Agreed."
"And we tell Sofia. Before we commit to anything, we tell her what we're doing and why. She deserves to know if we're potentially putting ourselves in danger."
"She's ten years old."
"She's also smarter than both of us combined. She deserves the truth."
He was right.
The next morning, we sat Sofia down before school.
"Sweetheart, Mama and Papa need to talk to you about something serious."
