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ever change that. And then she had let him go. CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE FOREST The forest was dark and forbidding, the trees looming like silent sentinels, their branches reaching out like skeletal fingers. Ruth had led William into the forest, her heart pounding with fear, her mind racing with the knowledge of what she was about to do. "Mama, I don t like this," William had said, his voice small and frightened. "Can we go back? Please?" Ruth had knelt down in front of him, her hands on his shoulders, her eyes searching his face. "I know, baby. I know you don t like it. But I need you to be brave for me. I need you to be the bravest little boy in the whole world." He had looked at her, his eyes filled with trust, and she had felt her heart shatter. "Can you do that for me?" she had asked. "Can you be brave?" He had nodded, his face pale, his eyes filled with tears. "I ll be brave, Mama. I promise." Ruth had pulled him into a fierce embrace, her body shaking with silent sobs. She had held him for what felt like forever, trying to memorize the feel of him, the warmth of him, the love of him. "I have to go away for a while," she had said, forcing the words out. "I have to go away, and you need to stay here." "No, Mama. Don t leave me. Please don t leave me." She had pressed a kiss to his forehead, her lips cold and chapped. "You stay here, and someone will find you. Someone will take care of you. You re a good boy, William. A good, brave boy. Remember that. Remember me." She had stood up and run. She had run into the forest, her thin coat flapping behind her like the wings of a wounded bird, and she had not looked back. CHAPTER TWENTY: THE ABANDONMENT The abandonment was the hardest thing Ruth had ever done, a choice that had torn her apart and left her hollow. She had run until her lungs burned and her legs gave out, and then she had collapsed against the trunk of a pine tree and wept. She had wept for the life she had lost, for the child she had left behind, for the future she would never have. She had wept for the mother she had been and the mother she could not be. When the tears were gone, she had stood up, wiped her face, and begun to walk. She had no idea where she was going, no idea what she would do next. All she knew was that she had done the only thing she could do. She had given her son a chance. PART FIVE: THE AFTERMATH CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: THE WOMAN WHO WATCHED Ruth had not left Willow Creek. She had told herself that she would, had planned to catch the next bus out of town, had even walked to the depot with her meager belongings stuffed into her worn duffel bag. But when she had stood at the ticket window, the money clutched in her trembling hand, she had found that she could not do it. She could not leave. She could not abandon her son a second time. She could not walk away from the only thing that mattered in her life. She had stayed, hidden in the shadows, watching from a distance. She had found a small room to rent on the outskirts of town, a tiny space with a bed and a chair and