Summary

Michelle didn’t hear another sound from the basement the rest of the month. She saw a news report with Mayra, Gina’s sister and the girl who Michelle knew, begging for Gina’s safe return. Out of the blue, Castro gave Michelle a notepad and pencil to draw with. She was ecstatic. She could draw again. She would draw something at the start of every day. She also wrote poems and song lyrics. She was careful with what she said because she figured Castro would eventually read it.

In May Castro unchained Michelle so she could help him board up another bedroom. It was probably for Gina. Michelle was torn up inside thinking about the horrors the fourteen-year-old was facing. She told Castro she didn’t want to help him commit a crime. But that fell on deaf ears...