Chapter 119
Elara's POV
I walked home through the empty streets. The sun was setting. Long shadows stretched across the pavement.
My hands were still shaking.
Not from fear. From rage.
I kept seeing Jack's face. The way he'd looked at me in that alley. The way he'd tried to touch me.
Ninety thousand dollars.
Fifteen years.
If he'd actually done his job. If he'd really looked for Lynette instead of lying on some beach somewhere.
Maybe my parents would have found her years ago.
Maybe she wouldn't be running from Wild Hunt right now.
Maybe none of this would be happening.
I clenched my fists. Forced myself to breathe.
Not the time. I couldn't think about what could have been.
I needed to focus on what came next.
I had to tell my family something. Some version of the truth that wouldn't destroy them.
Some lie that would let me leave for Canada without them asking too many questions.
My stomach twisted.
I was so tired of lying to them.
But what choice did I have?
---
I stopped at the end of our street. Looked at the house.
The lights were on. Warm and yellow through the windows.
I could see movement inside. Mom in the kitchen. Dad's silhouette in the living room.
They were all home.
Marcus. Emily. Ethan.
All three of them.
My chest got tight.
This was it. I could tell them all at once.
Get it over with.
I took a breath. Smoothed down my jacket. Made sure my face looked calm.
Serious but not too tense.
Like I had important news. Not like I'd just broken a man's bones in an alley.
I pushed open the front door.
Three pairs of eyes turned toward me.
---
"Hey sweetie." Mom smiled from the kitchen doorway. "You're late. Dinner's almost ready."
Dad looked up from his newspaper. Ethan had the TV on but he was watching me instead of the screen.
I stood in the doorway. Didn't take off my jacket yet.
"I need to talk to you guys about something."
The room went quiet.
Ethan muted the TV. Mom came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel. Dad folded his newspaper and set it aside.
They all looked at me.
I walked to the couch. Sat down.
"This afternoon. When you were all out. Someone came to the house."
Mom's smile faded. "Who?"
I looked at Dad. "He said his name was Jack Morrison."
Dad went completely still.
The newspaper slipped from his lap onto the floor.
Mom's hand flew to her mouth.
"He said he's been trying to reach you both. But your phones were off or something." I paused. "So he tracked me down through the school records."
That part was true enough. Jack had found me. Just not the way I was describing.
"He said he's a private investigator. That you hired him fifteen years ago."
Dad's face had gone white. "What did he want? Why would he come to you instead of—"
"He said he found something. About Lynette." I kept my voice steady. "But he wasn't sure if the lead was solid enough. Didn't want to get your hopes up again if it turned out to be nothing."
Mom made a small sound.
"So he came to me first. Asked if I knew anything. If you'd ever mentioned her."
I looked at both of them. "I said no. Because I didn't. Not until today."
"What did he tell you?" Dad's voice was barely a whisper.
"That I have a sister. That her name is Lynette Grey. And that the trail leads to Canada."
Ethan's face went white.
“Wait... so it's true? What you were asking me about... we really have a sister?” His voice came out rough.
He looked at Mom and Dad. "Is that true?"
Mom was crying. Not making any sound. Just tears running down her face.
Dad's hand was gripping the back of his chair so hard his knuckles were white.
My chest hurt.
Their pain was so real. So raw.
And I'd been living here for weeks not knowing. Not understanding why they looked so tired all the time.
Why they counted every dollar.
Why Mom's eyes sometimes went distant when she looked at the family photos.
"Is it true?" Ethan stood up. "Do we actually have a sister?"
"Ethan." Mom's voice broke. "It's... it's complicated."
"Complicated?" He stared at them. "How is this complicated? Either we have a sister or we don't."
I spoke quietly. "Jack said you've been looking for her. For fifteen years. That you never gave up."
Dad made a sound. Almost like a sob.
Ethan turned to look at me. Then back at our parents.
Nobody said anything.
---
"Where?" Dad's voice was hoarse. "Where did Jack say he found her?"
This was it.
The lie I'd been preparing.
"The trail leads to Canada." I kept my face neutral. "He said most of the recent sightings have been up north."
I paused. Let that sink in.
"There's a student exchange program at school. I got selected for it."
Mom's eyes widened. "Elara—"
"I can go to Canada. Check out the leads myself." I looked at Dad. "If it's real. If she's really there. I'll bring her home."
"No." Mom shook her head. "No absolutely not. You're seventeen years old. You can't just—"
"I won't be alone." I cut her off. "And this is the best way."
"The best way?" Mom's voice rose. "The best way is to let Jack handle it. That's what we pay him for."
I wanted to laugh.
Pay him to lie to you. Pay him to take vacations while you scrape together grocery money.
But I didn't say that.
"If the lead is fake." I kept my voice calm. "At least you won't get your hopes up for nothing."
I looked at both of them. "But if it's real..."
My throat got tight.
"I promise I'll bring her home."
---
Dad and Mom looked at each other.
A whole conversation in that one look.
Fear. Hope. Desperation.
Mom was still crying. Dad's jaw was clenched so hard I could see the muscle jumping.
"We can't let you go alone." Dad finally said. "It's too dangerous."
"I told you. I won't be alone. The program has supervision. And I'll be careful."
That was mostly true. Cole would be with me.
Just not in any official capacity.
"How long?" Mom whispered.
"I don't know yet. Maybe a few weeks."
Her face crumpled.
"Please." I leaned forward. "Let me do this. Let me help."
The room was so quiet I could hear the kitchen clock ticking.
Then Ethan spoke.
"I'm going with you."
Everyone turned to look at him.
He was standing with his arms crossed. His face was set. That stubborn look he got when he'd made up his mind about something.
"Ethan—" I started.
"No." He cut me off. "I just found out I have a sister. You think I'm going to sit here while you go looking for her?"
My stomach dropped.
No. No no no.
He couldn't come. Wild Hunt was involved. Professional killers.
If something happened to him—