Chapter 5 The Promise Broken

Torch beams cut across the reeds, throwing wild shadows over the bank. Sophia's heart thudded. The boy's small hand still trembled in hers, sticky with tears and mud. She squeezed it automatically, her own fingers ice-cold.

"Hands up!" an officer barked. "Step away from the man on the ground."

Lucas rose slowly, palms open. "He had a knife," he said hoarsely. "I was only-"

"Step away!" the officer repeated, moving closer, hand near his holster.

Sophia saw it all at once: the child's toy shoe lying in the mud, a smear of blood on the railing, Lucas's rough clothes and cracked knuckles. The torches bobbed like angry stars. To these men, Lucas already looked guilty. In court, they would tear him apart. Her father's words rang in her head - people like him don't belong with people like you.

She swallowed hard. "It was me," she said.

The officer blinked. "What?"

"I fought him off," Sophia said louder. "I hit him. Not him. Me."

Lucas turned, stunned. "Sophia, no!"

She gripped his arm. "If you love me, don't say anything."

Blue lights flickered over his face. He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

The officers moved in. "Miss, step this way."

Sophia lifted her chin as they took her wrists. Cold metal closed around them. She kept her eyes on Lucas. "Promise me," she whispered. "Promise you'll become that lawyer."

"I promise," he said, his voice breaking.

As the officers pulled her toward the car she tried to memorise Lucas's face, the tilt of his mouth, the way the boy's fingers still clutched his sleeve. She wondered if he'd still be there tomorrow or if he would vanish from her life like a dream. Her shoes slipped on the wet grass and for a moment she thought she might faint.

They led her to the car. The boy began to cry again, reaching for her. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from crying too. Her shoes slipped on the wet grass. She thought of the recital hall full of chandeliers and polite applause and felt sick. Here, at least, she was doing something she chose.

The car door slammed. She was gone.

---

Lucas stood rooted to the spot, fists trembling. "She didn't do anything," he told the officer nearest him. "I did."

But the man only shook his head. "She confessed, son. And your statement matches hers."

Lucas bent and lifted the child into his arms. The boy clung to his neck as if he were the only safe thing left in the world. Lucas stroked his hair, murmuring nonsense. When the paramedic finally took the child from his arms, his fingers felt empty, useless. He wiped his palms on his trousers but the stickiness of the man's blood stayed in his mind.

Joe appeared at the edge of the cordon, his face pale. "Kid, what happened?"

Lucas stared at the flashing lights. "She took the blame," he said. "She thinks her father will save her."

"Will he?"

Lucas's mouth was dry. "I don't know."

He watched the patrol car disappear over the rise. He wanted to run after it, drag her back, tell the truth. But her last words echoed in his head - If you love me, don't say anything. A promise began to form in his chest like a fist. He clenched the scholarship flyer in his pocket until it crumpled. "I'll get you out," he whispered. "I swear I'll get you out."

He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked up at the bridge arching over the river. This had been their place, their secret. Now it felt like a gallows. He swore to himself he would climb out of Riverside, whatever it cost.

---

The next morning Mary stood at the sink, staring at the radio as the announcer read the news. "...Miss Sophia Kingston, daughter of prominent businessman Henry Kingston, was arrested late last night after an altercation at the Riverside Bridge. One man is dead, a child unharmed..."

Isabelle sat on the counter swinging her legs, eyes bright. "She's my age, Mama. She saved that boy. Do you think she's scared?"

Mary's spoon clattered into the sink. "Of course she's scared," she said before she could stop herself.

Isabelle tilted her head. "You sound like you know her."

Mary turned her back quickly. "Eat your breakfast."

"She sounds brave," Isabelle murmured. "Braver than me."

Mary dried her hands slowly. "Sometimes bravery costs more than you think," she said softly.

When Isabelle left for school, Mary sank into a chair, the old photograph of the twins hidden under her apron. She pressed it to her chest, whispering a name she hadn't spoken in years. "Elena..."She pressed the photo to her lips. Not a night had passed that she didn't think of the child she'd lost to another world, and now that world was crashing into hers again.

---

At the police station Sophia sat in a cold cell, arms wrapped around herself. She had made her choice, but now the weight of it pressed down on her chest. She pictured Lucas's face on the bridge, the boy's tear-streaked cheeks, the dark figure slipping away.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor. The door opened. Mr. Kingston stepped in, flanked by a lawyer.

"Father," Sophia said in relief. "I knew you'd come."

His expression was hard as glass. "You've disgraced this family," he said quietly. "Do you know what you've done?"

Her relief faltered. "You're going to get me out, aren't you?"

He glanced at the lawyer. "We'll see what can be done."

For a heartbeat she thought he would reach for her hand. Instead he buttoned his coat. The air in the cell felt colder. "Father..." she whispered, but the door had already swung shut.

In another part of the city, Lucas stood on the bridge at dawn, staring at the empty spot where she had been led away. He clenched the torn scholarship flyer in his hand until it ripped. "I promised," he whispered. "I have to keep my promise."