Authors: Carolyn Keene

Dangerous Relations (15 page)

When they arrived at the hospital, Nancy had butterflies in her stomach. They stayed with her all the way to Natalia's room.

At the door Victor gestured for the girls to go ahead of him. Nancy saw that his hands were trembling again.

Nancy opened the door. “Natalia?” she said quietly. “There's someone here to see you.”

Seeing the serious expression on Nancy's face, Natalia slowly rose from her chair. “Is itâis it my father?”

Victor filled the doorway, his chin quivering with emotion as he gazed at his daughter. There were no words to bridge the gap of eighteen years.
Nancy's throat filled as Victor reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out one faded ballet slipperâthe mate to the one Natalia had treasured all these years. Tears streamed down his face as he held it out to Natalia.

“Father!” Natalia ran into his open arms.

Soundlessly Nancy, George, and Bess slipped out into the hallway. Nancy took one look at Bess and passed her a tissue.

Bess dabbed her eyes and smiled. “I love happy endings, don't you?”

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.