Two weeks passed, and we were struggling to find enough evidence to be able to take the mysterious man into custody. The only evidence we had so far was the video, which apparently didn't prove enough for our case.

Elliot was found the week before in the woods, incredibly malnourished and on the brink of death. While he was still recovering in the hospital, Cole had just gotten out of it, but Bella was still being held in an institution.

"She's not going to speak to us, you know," Liv said, preparing to take notes. "They said that she doesn't really speak since the incident."

"We're going to have to find a way to get her to speak," I said. "We need more evidence in order to be able to take that guy into custody. And Bella agreed to do this, so that must be a good sign."

"Well, the institution did say that she spoke to the boy, Cole, briefly when they allowed him to visit her," Liv's eyes gazed into mine. "Maybe we should have him in here with her? Maybe that will help her talk."

Anxiety was pulsing through my veins. My throat felt tight and my fingers wouldn't stop tapping on the desk.

Both Bella and Cole were going to be brought in to be interviewed, though I wasn't sure if it was a good idea having both of them in the room together.

"Can you tell Jared to bring Bella in? We should try without Cole first," I suggested.

Liv nodded and stood to her feet, exiting the small room while I stared at the chairs in front of my desk. My fingers traced patterns on the wood nervously - I really wasn't sure if I was ready to see Bella yet.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, jumping in surprise when I heard the door open so quickly.

Jared walked in first, then Liv walked in, and then Bella slowly trudged behind them.

Her hair fell to her shoulders in dark waves, much different than the knotted mess it was when I first saw her. Her eyes were wide and her body was frail underneath the large sweatshirt that she was swimming in. She seemed quite small with her arms wrapped around her body.

Her hazel eyes locked on me, and I could practically see her replaying the first moment she saw me in her head. I couldn't blame her; I was doing the same.

Bella sat down hesitantly in front of the long desk we were sat at. Liv was beside me and Jared was beside her.

Bella's eyes were the size of saucers as she looked between the three of us.

"Hi, Bella," I said finally, my words slicing through the tense air. "I want to start off by asking how you're doing?"

Nothing. She didn't even look at me, her eyes were locked on the floor.

Liv gave me a look of sympathy as I cleared my throat.

I spoke again, my voice as gentle as possible. "Bella, we want you to know that whatever you tell us today is purely confidential. If at any moment you feel uncomfortable, we can stop."

Bella didn't say one word. She closed her eyes and licked her lips as she inhaled sharply.

"Sweetie," Liv said softly, "would it help if we brought someone in here with you?"

Bella's eyes widened a little bit as she locked her gaze on Liv.

"Somebody like... Cole, maybe? Would that help you?" Liv tilted her head, and much to my surprise, Bella nodded.

I looked over to Liv who pressed her lips into a thin line and stood to her feet.

"I will be right back with him, okay?" she asked.

Bella nodded again and Liv left the room.

Jared leaned towards me, and I knew whatever he was about to whisper to me would instantly irritate me.

"It doesn't make sense, bringing that kid in with her," Jared mumbled in my ear.

"Why?" I asked.

"He's just going to remind her more of what she went through, isn't it obvious?" he said, and I shook my head.

"Maybe that's comforting to her," I whispered back, my eyes locked on the nervous girl in front of me. "She shouldn't have to do this alone if she doesn't want to."

The door swung open after a few minutes, and Liv held it as Cole crutched into the room.

He looked much healthier than the last time I saw him. His hair was thick and strands were falling onto his forehead. He was clad in a white shirt which displayed that he was healthy, and not as skinny and frail as he was before. He still had a bandage on his forehead and his leg was wrapped, but other than that, he seemed to be recovering well physically.

Bella's lips curled into a timid smile when she saw him. He dropped his crutches against the wall and, with Liv's help, moved beside Bella.

My mind immediately went back to the videos of Cole being tortured. I couldn't get his groans out of my head.

"Is that better?" I asked Bella, and she nodded.

"Bella, we want to know if you could tell us what happened on the day that you were abducted," Liv spoke. "Who was involved, how was it done, what did you hear, or feel, or see?"

Bella remained quiet.

"Okay, the kid is in here with you now, so you have speak up, Honey," Jared said, and I wanted to strangle him. What was wrong with him? He had never acted so ignorant in a case before this one.

"She doesn't have to talk if she doesn't want to," Cole said suddenly.

Jared looked shocked at the fact that Cole spoke back to him. "We need her to speak, kid,"  he said.

"And we need you to leave us alone and let us move on from this, but you guys can't seem to do that," Cole retaliated, anger growing in his tone.

I took a deep breath. "We... we need answers, Cole, that's why we're doing this," I said to him, and Cole looked over to me. He reminded me so much of my son.

"Well, then he needs to get the fuck out of here, because he's obviously making her uncomfortable," Cole's voice was thick with anger, his accent more prominent than before.

Bella reached out to softly touch his arm. When Cole looked down at her, she shook her head gently.

"Jared, can you please exit the room?" I asked him, observing the way Jared was poorly holding in his frustration.

Jared looked at Cole before looking back at me. "Good luck with this one," he said to me before he stood up.

When Jared left the room, I turned to the kids.

"We're sorry about him," I said to the both of them. "He can be a bit unprofessional."

"Cole, maybe you could share with us what happened on the day you were abducted?" Liv finally asked, and Cole's shoulders tensed. "Only if you're comfortable with that."

Bella looked up at him. He licked his lips and she gently stroked his arm.

"Um, okay," he said hesitantly, swallowing hard.

He stopped for a second and took a deep breath.

"I was walking to school, like I always do," he continued. He squinted his eyes shut and shook his head.

"Take your time, it's okay," I told him quietly.

"This car pulled up to me. It was a, ah, Ford Thunderbird. I remember that pretty clearly," he sucked air through his teeth.

I could tell this was hard for him. My chest burned with sorrow.

"The car had been following me for a few blocks. I remember thinking that I was just being run up on again," he said.

"Run up on?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Yeah," he replied with a shrug. "It's not uncommon for me to be followed and jumped. My town isn't used to people that aren't like them, and that don't speak English. So the kids, and even the adults, torment us."

I looked at Bella whose eyes were welling up with glittering tears, and her gaze was fixated on the ground in front of her.

"This big guy got out of the car, and I thought it would be pretty easy getting rid of him. I expected a few people, so when it was just him, I figured I would pull out my pocket knife and scare him away. But before I could even get the chance to, he injected me with something."

Liv nodded, and she opened her mouth to ask something, but Bella suddenly started bawling.

Cole's eyes widened, and quickly, her body began racking wildly with sobs.

"I'm sorry!" Bella screamed out, her voice ear-piercing and her fingers threading through her hair.

Liv looked at me with worry embedded in her eyes as we both stood to our feet.

"Okay, maybe, maybe it's not a good idea with her in the room," Liv said, walking out from behind the desk and towards Bella.

Bella screamed loudly, and Cole's breaths were heavy as he reached out to grab Bella's hands.

"Jesus, Bella," Cole said, in shock at her sudden outburst.

"I almost killed you, Cole, do you know that? I almost killed you, I'm so sorry. I am a murderer!" Tears were covering Bella's cheeks, making her skin glisten.

Her hands ripped away from Cole's grip to cover her face.

"You're not, you aren't, Bella, it's okay," Cole tried desperately to calm her down, but she wouldn't stop sobbing.

"All right, we're going to take a break, okay, Bella?" Liv asked her, gently reaching to take her hand. "We're gonna get you some water, come on, sweetheart."

Bella stood to her feet and in a very quick movement, she practically pounced towards Cole.

Liv and I both moved to pull her away from him, out of fear that she was going to hurt him, but we stayed still once we realized that she was just hugging him.

Her arms were wrapped tightly around him, and she was crying into his shoulder. He brought his arms around her, and he rubbed the small of her back gently.

"Don't worry," Cole whispered, his voice gravelly as she continued crying into his shirt. "Va bene, va bene."