Nothing.
The hope collapses so fast, it feels like falling down an elevator shaft.
“Where is she?” I whisper.
An officer steps toward me. Says my name.
I don’t hear him.
“Where is she?” I say again, louder now. “She’s here. She has to be here.”
They tell me the house looks empty. They tell me there’s no one inside. They tell me they’re searching. They tell me they’re expanding the radius.
They tell me to wait.
Wait.
I look at the door like she might open it. Like she might come running out. Like I might hear her voice. Nothing.
My knees buckle. “I’m not leaving,” I say.
No one tells me to.
I sit down on the front step. Right there. Like a guard dog. Like a statue.
Like a man who has already lost everything once and will not survive losing it again.
If she comes back, Iwillbe here. If she walks through that door, Iwillbe here. If she needs me—even for one second—Iwillbe here. I stare at the empty door and hold the photo in my hands as if it were a prayer.
And I wait.
Chapter 44
Nathan
Dusk bleeds into night without anyone announcing it. At some point, most of the police cars leave. One stays. Just one cruiser parked at the curb like a tired sentry.
The house sits there. Dark. Silent. Empty.
I’ve memorized every crack in the front steps—every shadow in the windows. Nothing changes.
I stand up for the tenth time and walk back to the front door. I try the knob again. Locked. I press my face close to the glass, cupping my hands, peering into the dark. Nothing.
“Mr. Reign,” one of the officers says, firm but not unkind. “You need to step away from the door.”
“I’m not breaking anything,” I say. “I’m just looking.”
“We don’t have permission to be here,” he says. “And we don’t have a warrant yet. If you’re going to wait, please just wait in your car.”
I turn slowly. My chest feels like it’s full of broken glass. “Wait in my car?” I repeat. “My daughter has been missing for three fucking years.”
He flinches a little but holds his ground. “I understand,” he says. “I really do. But I can’t let you break into this house.”
“Then what are you doing?” I snap. “Because it looks a hell of a lot like nothing.”
“We’re here to help you, Mr. Reign.” He studies me for a moment. Then, softer, he says, “Please. Go sit down. For your own sake.”
I stare at the house one more time. Then I turn and walk back to my car before I say something I can’t take back.
