Eight-year-old Leo grabbed a massive fistful of chocolate frosting and slammed it directly into the center of his stepmother’s pristine white silk dress.

David rushed inside the sterile, freezing vault.

In the center of the room sat a sleek, silver medical pod surrounded by glowing blue monitors displaying life support vitals. Heart rate: 58 BPM. Oxygen saturation: 98%. Neural activity: Stable.

David approached the glass lid of the pod with trembling hands.

He wiped away the condensation gathered on the thick glass. Beneath it lay Elena.

She looked as peaceful as the day she had vanished four years ago. Her dark hair was neatly arranged, her skin pale but warm, her face untouched by time due to the stasis field maintained by the pod.

"Elena..." David choked out, a flood of emotional tears bursting from his eyes. He pressed his palms against the glass. "Oh God, Elena... I found you."

He quickly typed the emergency medical awakening sequence into the side console.

The hydraulic seals on the pod hissed loudly, releasing the atmospheric pressure. The glass lid lifted slowly into the air.

The warm air of the room hit Elena's face. For thirty agonizing seconds, nothing happened. The heart monitor beeped steadily.

Then, Elena’s chest took a deep, sudden breath. Her dark eyelashes fluttered open.

Her deep brown eyes—the eyes David had missed every single day for four long years—scanned the ceiling before slowly focusing on David’s tear-streaked face standing above her.

"D... David?" her voice came out as a weak, dry rasp.

David leaned down, wrapping his arms gently around her shoulders, holding her against his chest as if she were made of delicate glass. "I'm here, my love. I'm right here. You're safe now."

Elena rested her head against his neck, tears trickling down her cheeks as her memory slowly returned. "Julian... he took me... he locked me away..."

"He's finished," David whispered, kissing her hair repeatedly. "He will never hurt you again. It's over."