Chapter Twelve: Found her
Angel had never known a silence that screamed so loudly.
She stood in the center of the amusement park, surrounded by hundreds of voices, music blasting from speakers, children laughing, but everything around her sounded distant, muffled, like someone had pressed a pillow over her ears.
"Mara!" she called again, and her voice cracked this time.
Her baby. Her sunshine. Her little girl.
Gone.
Her knees nearly gave out, but she forced herself to stand upright. She couldn't crumble. Not now. Not in front of Malik. Not in front of all these people looking at her with sympathy she didn't need.
She needed her child.
Malik clung to her shirt, trembling. "Mum…she was right next to me. I didn't know she left, I didn't..."
Angel grabbed his face gently. "This is not your fault. Do you hear me? Not your fault. Don't cry."
But he already was.
Zahid turned toward them, phone already at his ear, voice low but sharp with authority.
"Lock down the entry gates. Both sides," he ordered.
Angel whipped her head toward him. "Zahid, they won't let you..."
"They will," he said without looking back. "And if they refuse, I will buy this entire damned place before the hour ends."
There was no hesitation, no softness in his voice, when he said that.
Just power.
People around them stared. Whispering. Confused.
A park security man rushed over. "Sir, you cannot order a lockdown, we need clearance from"
Zahid's look alone shut him up.
"I am NOT asking," he said with a voice so cold, so controlled, it made the man swallow hard.
Angel watched Zahid pace, phone pressed to his ear, the wind tugging lightly at his shirt as he moved with lethal intensity.
This was not the man who held Mara's hand on the carousel. This was not the man who let Malik win at bumper cars.
This was a man who could move worlds when he cared.
And he cared.
"Shut it down. Every ride," he commanded. "No exits. No staff movement. Pull the CCTV from the last ten minutes. Bring it to me now."
He ended the call and immediately made another.
Angel wrapped her arms around herself. She felt like the ground was shifting under her feet, like the sky was too heavy and might fall on her head any second.
"Zahid…" she whispered, but her voice was almost gone.
He closed the distance between them in two strides.
"We will find her," he said, and for the first time since the panic started, his voice softened, just for her.
"I should have held her hand," Angel murmured, tears burning her eyes. "I turned away for one second… one second."
"Angel," he said firmly, gripping her shoulders so she would look at him. "This is not your fault. Children wander. She is in here. She is unharmed. And we will find her."
But Angel couldn't stop shaking.
She could barely breathe.
Her chest felt tight, her ribs felt crushed, and a sharp pain shot across her stomach as though the fear was physically tearing her apart.
"Mara…" she whispered again, voice breaking. "My baby."
Malik broke into fresh sobs.
Zahid immediately crouched to Malik's level and wiped his tears roughly, but with tenderness.
"Your sister is brave," he told him. "And she is smart. If she is scared, she will cry, and someone will come. We will find her before she finishes one tear. I promise."
Malik nodded, swallowing hard.
But Angel knew the truth.
Mara wasn't bold without her.
Mara wasn't loud without her.
Mara became small when she was frightened.
Angel could see her baby in her mind—tiny hands shaking, eyes wide, breathing fast.
She broke.
She pressed her fist to her mouth to keep from screaming.
Zahid rose and cupped her cheek. "Angel… look at me."
She did, barely.
"You will get her back," he said. "I swear it."
His voice, steady, grounded, forced her to inhale again.
A guard rushed toward them with a tablet.
"We have footage!"
Zahid snatched it and hit play.
There, tiny. Pink shirt. Butterflies on the front.
Mara.
Running after a small orange stray cat.
Angel gasped. "Oh my God....oh my God..."
"She's alone," the guard said.
"No," Zahid corrected, eyes locked on the screen. "She's following the cat through… there. Behind the arcade alley."
The area behind the arcade, quiet, tight pathway, food stall storage.
Too many turns.
Too many corners.
The footage blurred as the angle changed.
In the next frame, Mara disappeared behind a wall of adults in the crowd.
"She didn't leave the park," Zahid said. "She's still inside."
Angel let out a desperate breath that felt like it scraped her lungs raw.
Zahid gave sharp orders. His guards spread out instantly. Park staff joined. Mothers nearby began helping too.
Angel grabbed Malik's hand and followed Zahid.
They searched.
And searched.
Angel called. Her voice broke each time.
"Mara!!"
Nothing.
Then...
A small sound.
A soft sob.
Zahid stopped abruptly, raising his hand.
Everyone stilled.
They listened.
There it was again.
Tiny.
Fragile.
Crying.
Angel turned toward a narrow pathway behind the cotton candy stand.
"Mara?" she whispered, terrified to hope.
Another sob.
She ran.
She ran so fast the world blurred around her.
At the end of the pathway, in a small clearing behind the ride control booth, under a faded red umbrella…
A group of stray kids, barefoot and thin, sat in a circle on the ground.
And in the arms of one of them.
Mara.
Her face wet with tears, her small body shaking, clutching the shirt of an older girl, maybe ten years old.
The girl gently rubbed Mara's back, whispering, "It's okay, don't cry. Someone will find you."
Angel's knees buckled.
"Mara!"
Mara's head jerked up.
"Mummy!"
She scrambled off the girl's lap and ran.
Angel dropped to the ground and caught her mid-sprint, wrapping both arms around her so tightly she felt like she might never let go again.
"Mummy, I got lost..." Mara sobbed. "I followed the kitty, and....and then there were too many people, and I couldn't find you, Mummy, I was so scared...."
Angel pressed her face to Mara's hair, shaking. "It's okay. It's okay, baby. I'm here. I'm right here."
Zahid approached slowly, his chest rising and falling like he'd run miles. Malik ran to Mara and hugged her, both of them crying.
Angel looked up at the stray kids. "Thank you," she whispered, voice thick.
The oldest girl nodded shyly. "She cried a lot. We didn't want to leave her alone."
Zahid stepped forward and crouched to their level. His face softened, only a fraction, but enough.
He handed them money discreetly. "For food. And water. And thank you."
The girl's eyes widened in shock.
Zahid stood, then turned toward Angel.
"Let's go home."
Angel held Mara the entire walk to the cars.
Mara refused to let go of her neck.
The SUVs pulled away. The amusement park behind them slowly returned to chaos.
Inside the car, Angel sat with Mara on her lap, Malik beside her.
Zahid sat across from them, silent, watching.
Angel kissed the top of her daughter's head again and again, unable to stop.
"I was so scared," she whispered.
Zahid lowered his gaze.
"I was too," he said.
When they arrived home, Mara refused to be put down, so Angel carried her inside.
Zahid held the door open, watching quietly, protectively.
Angel paused before entering.
"Zahid…"
He lifted his head.
"Thank you," she whispered.
His jaw tightened, not in anger, but something else.
Something deeper.
Something that scared her almost as much as losing Mara.
"You don't have to thank me, Angel," he said softly. "You are… family."
Her heart stopped.
Just for a moment.
Then started again, beating too fast.
She looked away.
Inside, Mara fell asleep on Angel's chest within minutes, exhausted.
Malik curled next to them.
Angel ran her fingers through their hair.
And for the first time since the terror began…
Her tense muscles relaxed.