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son, and he needs me.”
    â€œBut you’re a . . .” Jacob caught himself before he finished the thought.
    â€œI’m what? A woman?” Rebecca stared up at her brother, angry at his patronizing tone.
    â€œWell . . . yes . . . and it might be dangerous.”
    â€œAnd you think Devil’s Island wasn’t?” At the moment Rebecca didn’t care about potential danger; all she could think of was that she wanted her baby.
    Jacob looked flustered when she didn’t back down. “That’s beside the point,” he said. “Look, we’re wasting time arguing. I’ve already had to talk Peter into staying. He wanted to go with us to Naomi’s, but it truly could be dangerous, and if we had to make a run for it, what would he do?”
    â€œNaomi? You think she did this?” Rebecca took a step backward, stunned.
    â€œRebecca . . .” Jacob sighed in frustration and ran his hands through his thick black hair.
    So that’s what he had been trying to avoid telling her. Jacob thought Naomi was involved in Victor’s kidnapping.
    â€œJust stay put. Please,” Jacob said as he turned to leave. “I have to go now. Antony and Marcellus are waiting for me.”
    Rebecca caught his arm. “You didn’t answer me. Do you think Naomi put someone up to stealing my baby?”
    â€œThat’s what we’re going to find out,” he said, grim determination lining his face. Jacob paused at the door. “I won’t rest until we get Victor back. I promise you that, Rebecca.”
    When Jacob left she stared at the door, then she tucked the blanket around Aurora and sat down on the bed. My own sister.
    Two hours later Rebecca snuffed out the lamp and tried to sleep. She had managed to eat some of her dinner, then she had paced the floor and prayed, pleading with God for the safe return of her son.
    With heightened senses, she strained to hear every sound, alternately thinking that the least noise must be Jacob and the others returning, then wondering if an intruder had managed to enter the villa. Gradually the large house grew quiet, and Rebecca’s mind finally gave up the struggle to stay alert.
    Her sleep was not peaceful, however. Victor’s disappearance invaded her dreams in disturbing images as Rebecca groped her way through an endless series of dim caves, searching desperately for her baby. She stumbled and fell, stumbled and fell, as she wandered through the cavernous realms of unreality on her frantic pursuit.
    Finally, a beam of light appeared in the distance, and she recognized it as the entrance of the cave. She made her way toward the light and emerged into the bright sunshine, blinking at the vista that had greeted her every day of her life on Devil’s Island: a rugged mountain peak with a sweeping view of the surrounding ocean.
    Standing a few yards in front of her, staring out at the water, was a man. Even with his back toward her, Rebecca recognized him, and a profound mixture of relief and joy washed over her.
    â€œGalen!”
    At the sound of her voice he turned around, and Rebecca saw that her fiancé was holding Victor. She gasped. “Oh, Galen, you found him for me!”
    â€œYes,” he said sadly, fixing his familiar, intense gaze on her. “But you know I can’t keep him.”
    Before Rebecca could answer, Galen swiveled back toward the cliff and swung his arms in a wide arc, releasing Victor into the air. Rebecca watched helplessly as her baby sailed over the barren trees and plunged down, down, down toward the brilliant-blue water below.
    She woke and sat straight up in bed, clutching the bedcovers, her heart pounding. For several long minutes Rebecca was barely able to breathe. The vivid image had been frightfully disturbing, but she was aware that that’s all it was: a nightmare.
    Rebecca knew Galen couldn’t possibly have Victor; Naomi did. Galen was a gentle man, a complete stranger to