Chapter Forty-Nine - Ava

I woke up before the sun the next morning. Sleeping had become my enemy since they took Charlotte. Fletcher didn’t stir when I got out of bed and walked into the kitchen to make myself a pot of coffee. Lucinda’s light was on in her house, but it was still too early for her to make it over to start breakfast. I’d needed that release the night before in the shower, but it didn’t heal the ache in my heart. I wanted to run to the Capellos myself and demand they let her go. But I wouldn’t make it two feet out of that door alone. The guards would stop me: Jones or anyone else watching our house every second of the day. I made my coffee and stepped outside on the veranda to drink it. Lucinda walked out of her house ten minutes after I sat down. She looked startled to see me. “Morning, Mrs. Hines,” she said. “Please call me, Ava, Lucinda.” She chuckled. “Ava. You’re up early this morning. Are you ill? Do you need anything from me?” I shook my head. “No, I have a lot on my mind. Unless