Chapter thirty-three
Lindsay
Ipivot slowly, scanning faces, banners, costumes. Too many colors. Too many people.
My heart pounds hard enough to drown out the noise.
I tell myself not to panic. That kids wander. That he knows the rules.
But the crowd keeps moving. And Henry does not reappear.
A group of teens with matching anime wigs closes in front of me. Someone bumps my shoulder and keeps walking.
"Henry!" I call, my voice swallowed by the convention center's vastness.
I retrace my steps, weaving through bodies, calling his name louder now.
I catch flashes of him everywhere. His hair color. A blue shirt. A backpack.
Each time I'm wrong, my chest tightens a little more.
This used to be the kind of place where wandering was harmless. Where losing sight of someone for a minute meantnothing more than a laugh and a story later. I know how this works.
Except I don't anymore. Not with cameras everywhere. Not with my face on screens.
This isn't just any kid who's wandered off. This is Henry Dupree. Son of Arthur Dupree.
My phone buzzes. Arthur's name flashes on the screen. I can't answer it. Not like this.
The phone goes silent. Then immediately buzzes again.
I scan another row of booths.
More faces. More costumes.
No Henry.
"Have you seen a boy?" I ask a vendor, my words tumbling out too fast. "Ten years old. Dark hair. Blue hoodie."
The man shakes his head, already looking past me to the next customer.
I finally find security because I need help.
A woman in a black polo with "STAFF" emblazoned across the back. I grab her arm without thinking.
"My—" I catch myself.Not my son. Not officially."I lost a child. Henry Dupree. He's ten. Dark hair. Blue hoodie. We were just at the merch hall and now he's gone."
Security moves fast. I give his description. My voice shakes despite my effort to steady it. The guard nods once, already speaking into a headset.
"Attention CAMICon attendees," a voice booms over the speakers. "We are assisting a guardian searching for a minor named Henry. If you are with Henry, please proceed to—"
The rest blurs. I stand frozen as whispers ripple outward and heads turn.
This is exactly what Arthur warned me about.
I wrap my arms around myself and wait.
Henry appears less than two minutes later. He's red-faced and mortified, walking beside a security guard like he's being escorted out of a crime scene.
