The Beloved Daughter

  I nodded, clearing my throat before I could speak. “The choice isn’t my own.”

  “How long do you expect to be gone?”

  I couldn’t tell Mrs. Cho what I was already certain of in my heart. Unwilling to answer her question, I looked again at the journal on my desk. “I wrote to her as if I would never see her again.” I gazed at my daughter. She looked so much like her father I sometimes felt as though I was staring into the face of Kwan’s ghost. “If I return,” I finally faltered, “I’ll have no reason to hold on to this journal. I’ll tell her these stories myself when she is old enough.”

  “And if you are … delayed?” Mrs. Cho asked.

  “You must give it to her when you think best.” Forgive me, dear and precious Ae-Cha! Forgive me for the choices that robbed you of your mother at such a young and tender age.

  “Please.” I turned my face away from the contented girl in my arms. “This is more than I can endure.” Mrs. Cho took Ae-Cha back from me and rocked my daughter in her arms. I motioned toward the journal. “I’m almost done. I need to finish before morning.”

  Mrs. Cho looked at me with moist eyes. Did she sense what was about to transpire? “Do you want me to wake Ae-Cha up in the morning to see you off?”

  I turned my back to the elderly woman and shook my head. “I don’t think I would be able to stand it.”

  “Good-night, then, righteous daughter.” Mrs. Cho couldn’t keep her voice from breaking. She carried Ae-Cha out and closed the door behind her. The soft click echoed through my empty room.

  I fingered the leather journal. I still hadn’t written any inscription on first page. Taking a deep breath, I let my tears splash onto the paper as I scrolled:

  To my precious Ae-Cha,

  so you will always know that you are

  my beloved daughter.

  Meet Alana

  The Beloved Daughter was born out of Alana’s compassion for the persecuted church. Chung-Cha’s story was inspired by Alana’s deep prayer burden for suffering believers in North Korea. It has won several awards, including the Women of Faith writing contest and Book of the Month from The Book Club Network.

  Please be sure to check out The Beloved Daughter: Bonus Materials if you want more information about the story behind The Beloved Daughter, including character sketches, stories behind the characters, and a mini-memoir of Alana’s experiences writing The Beloved Daughter. It’s only 99 cents on amazon, or you can get it free when you sign up for Alana’s newsletter. You may also be interested in Thirty Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, which Alana published as a companion prayer guide to go with this novel.

  The Beloved Daughter is the prelude of a new series of Christian fiction set in North Korea. Alana’s next follow-up novel, Slave Again, divulges the fate of Mee-Kyong, Chung-Cha’s friend from Camp 22. If you don’t want to miss it, sign up for Alana’s newsletter, or make a donation to Liberty in North Korea to secure your free copy on release day.

  Liberty in North Korea is an organization dedicated to helping refugees who escape North Korea. Want to help? Here are five ways to get involved:

  1) Make a donation to Liberty in North Korea. (While you’re there, you can request a free ebook copy of The Beloved Daughter to pass on to a friend!)

  2) Tell your friends about LiNK by using the social media buttons on the fundraiser page. (Tell them they can get a free copy of The Beloved Daughter too!)

  3) Reserve your free copy of Slave Again, Alana’s next novel, by making a donation to LiNK at this fundraising page.

  4) Check out the Authors and Readers for North Korea team to see what other fundraisers people have come up with to help rescue North Korean refugees.

  5) Create a fundraising page of your own. Link it to the Authors and Readers for North Korea team for increased visibility and impact.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  PART ONE

  A Bruised Reed

  The Test

  Courage to Stand

  PART TWO

  Daughter of Righteousness

  Daughter of Purity

  Daughter of Truth

  Broken Vessel

  Healing Balm

  Family

  Call of Freedom

  Visitor

  Hovering

  PART THREE

  Furnace

  Light of Dawn

  Haunted

  JOURNEY

  Weary Traveler

  Mountain Cleft

  Unmerited

  The Crossing

  PART FOUR

  Words Without Knowledge

  Haven

  The Gift

  Unspoken

  The Call

  Seasons

  Awakening

  Attendant

  Strangers

  Flight

  Rescuer

  Trapped

  PART FIVE

  Interrogation

  Behind Closed Doors

  Deliverer

  Unveiling

  Revelation

  Watchman

  Homecoming

  Redeemed

  PART SIX

  Called

  Beloved

  Omen

  Nightmare

  Messenger

  Surrogate

  Parting

  About the author

  Other books by Alana: