Leo Leblanc disappeared, and no one knows if he’s dead or alive.
According to the private team’s intel, ninety percent of the factories they’d learned about had been swept and shut down by force. Hundreds of women and teenage girls were found alive and rescued, rehabilitated, and sent back home to their families.
There was still much work to be done. There are still extended family members out there in the world, some still running factories that the private team hasn’t tracked locations for just yet. And furthermore, the four families certainly aren’t the only traffickers that exist in the world. There are still victims being taken and sold.
If I hadn’t gone public, the four families would’ve remained strong. As an international conglomerate that’s been in successful operation for generations, I’m proud that the risk I took effectively disabled them.
I still dance daily for myself, but my career desires changed dramatically after my captivity. With Ezra’s help, I started a non-profit group that seeks to support and rehabilitate trafficked survivors through dance therapy—the Encore Center for Survivors.
I didn’t have a college degree or really any knowledge of my own at first, but going public about what I’d endured earned me both monetary and expert support—I heard from dozens of psychologists, sociologists, social workers, counselors, and dance and music therapists after our news special aired. I didn’t have the therapy knowledge or the business knowledge when I started, but I learned. I learned a lot and I worked constantly, and I’m proud of the work I’m doing now.
I get to dance.
I get to teach.
I get to help survivors find their way back to a happy and healthy life.
But most important of all, I get to be with my family….a family Ezra and I created from the nothing we had when we were slaves. Brandon’s life saved us in so many ways. If he hadn’t existed, the events that led to our eventual escape would never have come to be, and Ezra and I both would likely be dead.
The fact that I’m able to watch him now, performing happily on stage, makes everything I’ve endured worth it.
He’s a miracle.
After the show, we collect our little ray of sunshine from backstage and I hold his hand as he bounces through the parking lot. I look over at Ezra, carrying Faith on his hip, and I smile with nothing but pure joy glowing from within.
Ezra turns his attention away from our beautiful baby girl in his arms to return my smile with a dazzling white grin of his own. “Whoever would’ve thought I’d have two beautiful blue-eyed girls?”
I catch Faith’s eyes in my gaze and make a silly face at her, making her giggle. Looking into her eyes is like seeing my own reflected back at me. They’re big and blue and bright and happy. If I could only do one thing for the rest of my life, it would be to fight for her to have a life that keeps the sparkle in her eyes, to fight to keep her blue eyes vibrant, innocent, and wondering.
I will fight to find and destroy the bad men and women in this world who seek to steal, abuse, and destroy human lives. I will fight for the rest of my life to ensure that my babies will know nothing but happiness and freedom.
We reach the car that we’ll soon have to trade in for something larger when the third little Bell baby comes along. Ezra and I split on either side of the car and I buckle in Brandon while he does the same with Faith. We shut their doors at the same time and though I reach for the handle of the passenger seat to climb in, he walks around the back of the car and reaches out for me, pulling me into his arms.
“I’m so in love with you, you know that?” He kisses the corner of my lips on one side, then the other.
“I know.” I smile at him, holding up my left hand to display the engagement ring and wedding band he bought for me soon after he brought me home to Philadelphia—we were married and had my name changed from Mikhailov to Bell as soon as we were able to make it legal. “You did promise me forever, so…”
His hips push against my protruding belly as he leans me back against the car. “I’d like to spend forever between your legs once we get these two adorable little shits down for the night.”
“Oh, you would?” I tilt my head, biting my lip. “I think I’d be okay with that.”
“I thought so.” He kisses me once and heads back around the car and we both climb in.
He starts up the engine and we both look behind us before he backs out of the space—I’ve made a bad habit of double-checking when he drives because heaven forbid we should hit something with my babies in the car.
Brandon catches my eyes and gives me the biggest grin. He holds out his little arms like he wants a hug, and I’ll give him a damn big one when we get home. “Mine?” he says in the sweetest little voice.
And at the same time, Ezra and I recognize our truth, declaring our loyalty to both our children—and the baby to come—that our hearts will always belong to them. We speak a single syllable in unison that expresses our absolute devotion to our family, to each other, now and forever.
“Yours.”
FINAL NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR
Anya and Ezra’s story is a work of fiction—intended only for the purpose of entertainment—but human trafficking is a very real issue that demands our collective attention. While all aspects of the Four Families series is fictitious, it’s important for us to acknowledge the experiences of real-life victims and bring attention to this serious issue.
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, there are resources that can help. One such resource in the United States is the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
National Human Trafficking Hotline
1 (888) 373-7888
SMS: 233733 (Text “HELP” or “INFO”)
Website: humantraffickinghotline.org
Everyone deserves a happy ending to their story.
Love,
Playlist
Shallow by Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Good Years by ZAYN
Take Me to Church by Hozier
Easy Way Out by Low Roar
Lost Without You by Freya Ridings
Dark Side by Bishop Briggs
Smile by Maisie Peters
War of Hearts by Ruelle
Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande
Rewrite the Stars by Jess and Gabriel
Run For Your Life by K. Flay
Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Chase Holfelder
Salvation by Gabrielle Aplin
There You Are by ZAYN
Dance Inside by The All-American Rejects