“Is she inside?” I whispered, stepping toward the door.
Thomas nodded slowly. “She’s in the basement unit, behind the old boiler room. I keep watch for her during the day, making sure no one follows her. Go on inside. Third door on the left down the stairs. I’ll stay out here and keep watch.”
I didn’t hesitate. I pushed the heavy metal door open and stepped into the dim, cool interior of the warehouse. The air smelled of dust, damp concrete, and old iron. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird as I found the concrete staircase and began to descend into the basement. The only light came from small, grime-covered windows near the ceiling, casting long beams of gray illumination across the floor.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, I counted the doors. One. Two. Three.
The third door was made of weathered wood, slightly cracked open. A faint, warm glow flickered from inside, the unmistakable light of a small battery-powered lantern. I reached out, my hand trembling violently, and pushed the door open completely.
Sitting on a makeshift bed of blankets in the corner of the small room was a young woman. Her hair was longer than it used to be, tied back loosely, and her face was thinner, bearing the marks of a difficult survival. But as she turned her head toward the door, I saw those familiar green eyes. It was my Lily.
She froze, staring at me in disbelief. The book she was holding slipped from her fingers, hitting the floor with a soft thud. For a long, silent second, neither of us moved, as if we were both afraid that breaking the silence would shatter a beautiful dream.
“Mom?” she whispered, her voice cracking.
“Li,” I choked out, stepping into the room.
In an instant, the three years of distance, pain, and searching vanished. Lily scrambled up from the blankets and threw herself into my arms. I held her tighter than I ever had before, burying my face in her shoulder, feeling the reality of her warmth and the steady rhythm of her breathing. We wept together in the dim light of the warehouse basement, the long nightmare finally coming to an end as I held my daughter close, promising myself that I would never let her go again.
