CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN

Irina

The shelter was not what I expected.

When we arrived, Andrei led me through a heavy metal door. The building looked old from outside. 

Dark brick walls and tiny windows with bars. It looked like a prison.

"This is it?" I asked nervously.

"Yes," Andrei smiled. "My sister runs this place. You will be safe here."

A woman appeared at the entrance. She was older, maybe fifty. She had gray hair pulled back in a tight bun.

"Andrei," she greeted him warmly. "You brought someone new."

"This is Irina," Andrei introduced me. "And her baby boy."

The woman looked at me with cold eyes. But then she...