Dan didn’t interrupt her. Not even when he felt his stomach tighten with each word.

“They kept them locked up,” Mara continued. Some cried all the time. Others stopped talking at all. Ana… Mrs. Ana… was different. She tried to help us. She gave me her food, taught me not to look into their eyes. She told me that if I escaped, to look for you. That you never stopped looking for her.

Dan closed his eyes. Ana appeared in his mind, as she was: stubborn, warm, unable to stand aside when someone was suffering.

“Where is this place?” he asked hoarsely.

— An old, guarded building. Forest road, very quiet. I ran at night, through the forest. I walked for days. People helped me, but they didn’t ask anything. It’s safer that way.

Dan stood up suddenly. The fatigue of years had disappeared. In its place was something sharp, clear.

He picked up the phone.

— Mihai, prepare the team. No police. No noise. I want everything you know about Victor Radescu and his “social” centers.

Then he turned to Mara.

“You’re not going back anywhere. As long as you’re here, you’re safe.”

For the first time, the little girl shed tears.

— Do you promise?

“I promise,” he said simply.

Two days later, in an isolated area of ​​the Apuseni Mountains, a rusty gate was forced open. Lights on, curt orders, hurried footsteps. An entire network collapsed in a single night.

Dan entered a small room with peeling walls. On a narrow bed, a woman sat up in fright.

“Ana,” he whispered.

She blinked in disbelief. Then she started to cry.

— Dan… I knew you would come.

They held each other’s arms for a long time, without words. Outside, morning was beginning to appear through the fir trees.

A few months later, in a modest apartment in Bucharest, Mara was doing her homework at the table. Ana was making tea, and Dan watched the scene with a silent smile.

Sometimes life breaks you. Sometimes it gives you everything back. But never without courage.