Substitute Child (Ross Lynch)

Chapter 15

Ross slowly placed the phone in the dock, his hand continuing to tremble. I covered my mouth with my hand, muffling the happy sobs that were escaping. I noticed tears were freely falling from his eyes, and I didn't hesitate to jump in his arms.

"They really found her?" I sobbed, my tears hitting the crook of his neck. He nodded, letting out sobs of his own. "I'm not going to wake up and find out she's still missing?"

He shook his head, leaning back to look in my eyes. His were red, and I assumed mine were as well. "They found her, Sky. We're getting our baby back."

A laugh mixed with shock and happiness escaped, and I couldn't help but kiss Ross. He kissed back, tangling his fingers in my hair and bringing me closer to his body. I could taste the salt of our tears on my lips, but I didn't care.

When we were finally able to calm down a bit, we headed off to the police station, and I called everyone and informed them about what was going on.

The police actually found Olivia. I was getting my baby back.

I couldn't sit still for one moment while we drove to the police station, and it felt like we were driving for hours before we finally arrived. We practically sprinted into the station, and I had a death grip on Ross' hand as Detective Carson led us into his office. He sat down behind his desk while Ross and I sat on the two chairs available.

"I know you two have a lot of questions, but the most important thing is that your daughter is safe." Detective Carson announced, sending relief through my body. I placed the palm of my hand on my forehead, trying to calm my breathing down.

"Where is she?" Ross asked, unable to hide the shakiness in his voice. I squeezed his hand, allowing him to squeeze it right back.

"She's on her way here right now." Detective Carson laced his fingers together and placed them on his desk. "My officers discovered that Mr. Holt was about an hour way, living in an apartment above a toy store. He used cash to rent out the apartment, which is why we weren't able to track through debit or credit cards."

"Then how did you find him?" I asked.

"The owner of the toy store recognized him from the news reports, and she called in." He explained. "Mr. Holt as been arrested and will be placed in a holding cell as he waits for a court date. But I have no doubt in my mind that he will be locked away for a long time. He won't bother your family again."

"But she's okay? O-our daughter is okay?" Ross bit his lip, anxiously waiting for Detective Carson's answer.

He smiled slightly, nodding his head. "Your daughter is fine. We had a medic check her out immediately, and they didn't find any injuries. She wasn't malnourished and she wasn't underweight." He paused. "When they found your daughter, she was alone in the bath tub, crying. Although we believe that Mr. Holt kept your daughter hydrated and fed, we also believe that he abandoned her multiple times a day."

I clenched my eyes shut, trying to erase the image of my daughter all alone in the bath tub. Whenever she cried, it would always break my heart, but this took it to an all knew level. She was crying, and there was no one there to comfort her.

"I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch." Ross muttered, low enough for only me to hear. His jaw clenched, followed by his fist.

If we wouldn't get arrested, so would I.

~*~

I glanced at the clock for what seemed like the tenth time, and chewed on my bottom lip. My stomach was doing flips, and I wasn't sure if the nausea was from the morning sickness or from the nervousness of waiting for Olivia.