The familiar voice hardly registered until Amelia turned around to Richard Dauer. The last time she saw him, he’d looked the part of a dapper and charismatic lawyer in a finely tailored suit. The man before her was the shadow of his former self in ratty clothes and with dark bags beneath his eyes.
“Oh God.” Richard pulled Amelia into a hug, but she went limp in his arms. “Your dad and I have been looking all over for you.”
Amelia squirmed out of his hold. “My dad? Is he here?”
The question came low and slow, as if being played back on a recording, and Amelia was floating somewhere outside of herself.
“He misses you so much,” Richard said and, with shaky hands, pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.
On it was a picture of Amelia and her father at her graduation. The Xerox copy mollified the uncertainty behind her smile. Printed beneath the photograph was:
Amelia Havick
Age: 23
DOB: 3/17/2003
Auburn hair, Brown eyes
5’6” 130 lbs.
Last Seen: Portland, Oregon
Missing Since: June 26th, 2026
Please call the Portland Police Bureau with any information.
With breaths hard won, tears welled as she thought of her father plastering up flyers and scouring the town.
“Honey, listen to me,” Richard said and anxiously eyed the mini mart. “The people you’re with, they’re not who you think they are. They’ve lied to you. Emory knows Cal is looking for you. He’s kept you from your family. Your dad is just down the street. Let me take you to him.”
Richard tugged on her forearm, but Amelia refused to budge.
“Don’t you want to go home?” he asked.
Such a simple question, Amelia could have sworn she already knew the answer. Of course, she wanted to go home. Of course, she did. Why wouldn’t she? But something hounded her, screaming for her to understand. Mirabelle was inside the mini mart and would return any minute. What would she think if Amelia disappeared without a word? And Emory. It’d break his heart if she left him like that.
“Yes,” Amelia said. “I want to go home. I just…give me a second.”
With a grimace, Richard stared at the mini mart again as Amelia dug in Mirabelle’s purse for a pen. She pressed the flyer to the window and scribbled a note on the back of the page but hesitated before tucking it beneath the wiper blade.
“Amelia, we need to go,” Richard insisted and reached for her, but Amelia wriggled away.
Why was the decision suddenly so difficult? Her dad needed her. He’d been left alone to bury her mother. She was all he had. But another force pulled in the opposite direction. Emory, Mirabelle, Liam, Gio, Pete—none of them were bad people. They’d been kind to her. They’d been there for Amelia in her darkest hours, the ones she was certain she’d never survive.
Amelia shook her head. “At least let me say goodbye.”
“Listen to me.” Richard nervously licked his dry lips and cinched her forearms in a tight grasp. “I’ve already called the police. I told them I found you. If you don’t come with me, they’ll see you with Mirabelle. She could get into a lot of trouble. Emory too. If you leave with me now, the police won’t ever have to know that Emory was involved in this. It’ll be our secret. Don’t you want to keep him safe, protect him like he’s protected you?”
Amelia nodded. “I’d do anything to keep him safe.”
“Of course, you would,” Richard said and led Amelia across the parking lot to a silver SUV.
“Whose car is that?” Amelia asked and scanned the lot for one of Rich’s cars. He only drove luxury vehicles. It should’ve stood out amongst the dusty pickup trucks and nondescript sedans.
“FBI. They opened a case in your disappearance. I’ve been helping them.”
“But you said you wouldn’t involve the police.”
