“But I will be completely patient with her because real love always takes time.”

I had desperately wanted to believe those comforting words back then.

Now, her three-year-old grandson was trembling uncontrollably against my leg as if he was terrified that she might suddenly notice him standing there.

“Where is your Mommy right now, Leo?” I asked in a low, gentle voice.

“She is with Aunt Rebecca,” Leo whispered softly, his voice shaking with genuine distress.

“Mommy told me that I should not go with her.”

A sudden, sharp pain tightened deep inside my stomach.

Christina was supposed to be resting peacefully back at her own city apartment, while Rebecca, my younger sister, lived clear across the other side of town.

“Did Mommy tell you anything else before you came here, Leo?” I asked, leaning in closer.

Leo glanced toward Florence once again, his little shoulders shaking once beneath his oversized jacket.

Then, he slowly reached deep inside his tiny jacket pocket.

He pulled out a minuscule black USB flash drive that had noticeable scuff marks along one sharp corner.

“Mommy told me that if she fell asleep for a very long time, I had to bring this and give it straight to you,” he said.

For several frozen seconds, I could not move a single muscle in my body.