Roja is standing in the hallway to her room after she left the kitchen in a hurry. Seeing how happy Lola and her mother were together made her think about her own parents. She wouldn’t be stuck in this hallway, still not knowing the way to her room, if her parents were still alive. “I’m a burden to them,” she mumbles to herself while trying to find the right door.

A few minutes later, Lucia comes up to the hallway and finds a still searching Roja. “Hey Roja, do you have a moment?” Roja nods and walks over to Lucia. However, Lucia already noticed Roja’s searching gaze. “Maybe we should go to your room for that, this hallway is a bit too dark for my liking,” she says with a slight smile on her face while pointing at a door. Relieved, Roja heads to that door. When she opens it and lets Lucia into her room, she counts the five doors from the stairs to her room. Hopefully, she’ll never need the help of someone else to get to her room again.

“I’m sorry for how I treated you earlier. I should have known better,” Lucia starts the conversation. Roja just stands there, uncomfortably looking at the floor. “My daughter told me a few things about you. I just want to let you know that you can talk to me if you need anything,” Lucia continues.

“It’s fine, thank you. I don’t want to bother-” Roja starts, but gets interrupted by her friends’ mother,

“You wouldn’t bother me. I already have three children, one person more who asks for my advice doesn’t hurt. I can see you’re a strong girl, but sometimes it’s good to have someone with a bit more life experience.” These caring words make Roja fight against her tears again. For several years, nobody cared for her and now there’s a whole family trying to help. She clenches her fists, holding back the tears, as Lucia just walks closer to her and hugs her. This kind gesture makes Roja burst into tears while Lucia tells her that everything will be alright.

A few minutes later, Roja manages to stop sobbing and Lucia takes a step back to look at her with a smile. “You’re very similar to Lola. She and Oren were always very outgoing but she gets very quiet when she’s sad until she can cry in someone’s arms. Crying can be really helpful sometimes.” After a short break, she adds, “Jason is totally different. He doesn’t talk about his problems at all, but he knows we’re still here for him whenever he needs us. When their father died, I knew it was going to be a difficult time. It got easier, most of us learned how to be happy again. Someday, the same will happen to you.” Roja nods while wiping away the last few tears. Lucia really knows what she needs to hear right now.

“Now, let’s stop this sad talk and go over to more interesting topics. Lola wants to go shopping tomorrow. How about we get some tea and discuss this?” Lucia asks. Roja agrees, wondering if she’s even allowed to leave with them. At the same time, she’s curious about what going shopping will be like. She never went clothes shopping with her mother, she was too young when there was still the chance to do that.

***

At the same time, Jason met with Gabe at the gang’s hideout. Without any greetings, the leader asked what Gabe found out. “I got into the records of the foster care system. Although we have no last name, I found something even more interesting,” Gabe says.

Jason is worried, “Are you sure you found the right one? How did you find her without knowing her last name?”

“Pictures. Her file is full of pictures of her and her parents and foster parents,” Gabe starts explaining before reading his notes from a small sheet, “When she was 11, she was taken in by someone we know very well: The Smith family.”

“Did you find anything about her being in their gang?” Jason asks while trying to stay calm. He knew it, something was off about this girl. She is part of the rival gang!

“Not really. You found her at Ric’s house, right? Why would she be in a gang member’s cellar if she was in the gang ever since she was a little kid? That doesn’t really make sense,” Gabe explains. He is more focused on the fact that Roja isn’t Ric’s foster child according to the records. “But she could have some useful information about them,” he adds as he sees his boss’s doubtful look.

“Does that mean they still think she lives with the Smiths? She would be Dexter’s foster sister,” Jason says, more to himself. He knows that Gabe has a point by saying that she was at the wrong house when they found her. Her being chained to a wall in a dark room doesn’t fit to his assumption about her being on the enemy’s side.

“I guess he’s her official foster brother,” Gabe mumbles, knowing that Jason doesn’t really listen anymore.

Dexter Smith, the only name that makes Jason uncomfortable. No, he’s not scared of the rival gang’s leader, but he knows what they are willing to do to succeed. It was only a matter of time until they sent a spy to ruin the Morellis' gang, but Jason won’t let that happen. However, in the back of his head where he keeps all his emotions locked up, he wonders if that girl in his guest room, with her nightmares and fears, could really be part of a gang. Could she really be a spy?