And one of them looked like a memory brought to life.
Victoria pushed the plate toward them with unsteady hands.
“You can take it.”
They hesitated before accepting it. The older boy nodded politely and pulled the plate closer.
They didn’t devour the food the way starving children often do.
Instead, they ate slowly, cautiously—like boys used to meals disappearing if they seemed too eager.
Victoria leaned forward slightly.
“What are your names?”
The older boy glanced up.
“I’m Evan.”
He nodded toward the younger one.
“And this is Lucas.”
Victoria’s fork slipped from her fingers and landed on the tablecloth.
Evan.
Lucas.
Not the exact names she remembered calling through playgrounds years ago—but close enough to make her chest tighten painfully.
Then she noticed something else.
Around Lucas’s neck hung a small silver necklace, partly hidden beneath his collar.
A pendant shaped like half of a heart.
Victoria stood up so quickly her chair scraped loudly against the floor.
Years ago, she had bought a pair of matching half-heart lockets for her sons. One had disappeared the day Daniel vanished with them.
The other still rested in the bottom drawer of her jewelry box.
Her voice trembled.