Twenty-one
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THE FOLLOWING MORNING she woke as usual, and dressed. She headed toward the kitchen to help Marianna with breakfast, but as she approached the entrance hall, she drew to a halt. The normally shut and bolted front door stood wide open. A couple of large boxes sat just inside the door, but otherwise no one was around.
Lily’s heart lurched.
Just beyond the door, bright sunlight beamed down onto the green grass, and pinks, purples, and oranges of the tropical flowers in the beds. Beyond the barbed wire wall, tall pine trees stretched into a glorious blue sky.
You can go out there, a little voice whispered in her head. No one is here. No one will know.
No, I can’t, the fearful part of her argued. Monster’s men might see me. They’ll tell him.
They’re watching for peopl
