Chapter 240 Old photo

Chapter 240 Old photo
♡Leila POV♡

(Song recommedation: cardigan instrumental- Taylor swift)

The words landed like a punch to the solar plexus. Air rushed out of me in a soundless gasp. Missing. My mom—sick, fragile, her mind slipping further into dementia every day—was missing.

“What do you mean missing?” My voice cracked. “She’s—she’s supposed to be in her room. She doesn’t wander. She can’t even find the bathroom half the time without help.”

Another careful pause. “She was last seen around eleven this morning during lunch. When staff went to check on her for her afternoon meds, her room was empty. Her walker is still by the bed, but her shoes are gone. We’ve searched the facility grounds and alerted local authorities. We’re calling all immediate family.”

My knees buckled. I grabbed the back of the nearest bench to keep from hitting the ground. The metal burned hot under my palm.

“She’s sick,” I whispered, more to myself than to the woman on the phone. “She doesn’t know where she is half the time. She thinks she’s still in our old house in Henderson. If she’s out there—” My throat closed. “She won’t know how to get back. She won’t know how to ask for help.”

“We understand, Miss Samuels. We’re doing everything we can. Police are pulling security footage now. We wanted to reach you first since you’re listed as her primary contact.”

Primary contact. The words tasted bitter. I’d been paying for that room—every last cent from my part time gigs. I couldn't even tell June and Kayla about her real condition.

They all thought she was managing her store and needed help from me time to time, they didn't know that store I was always running to, was a — Shelter – because I couldn’t bring her to live with me. Not when I was barely holding myself together. Not when I even became pregnant. And now she was gone.

“Where are you searching?” I asked, voice shaking. “The streets around the facility? The bus stops? She likes bus stops—she thinks they’re going to take her to church.”

“We’ve got teams checking those areas. If you can come to the shelter, it would help. Sometimes familiar voices on the phone or in person can—”
“I’m coming,” I cut in. “I’m in Vegas. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

I ended the call before she could say anything else. My hands were trembling so badly the phone nearly slipped from my fingers. I stared at the blank screen, then at the empty park around me—the swing set still swaying gently, mocking me with its normalcy.
Mom was missing.

My mom—who forgot my name some days but still called me “baby girl” when she remembered—was out there somewhere, confused, alone, probably scared, and I was here. Hiding. Running from people who loved me because I couldn’t stand to see their pity.

I pressed both hands to my face, breathing hard through my fingers. Then I straightened up. I had to move.


I rushed back into the house so fast the door banged against the wall. Everyone inside froze.

June’s mouth snapped shut mid-sentence. Lia looked up sharply from the couch. Kayla nearly dropped the glass of water in her hand. Hermes straightened beside June, his eyes narrowing with immediate concern. The Millers had already left, thank God, so only the four of them remained — staring at me like I was a ghost who’d just walked back through the door.

I stood there in the entryway, chest heaving, trying to catch my breath. My mind raced. Should I tell them? Should I blurt out that my mother was missing from the shelter? That I was terrified it wasn’t just her dementia acting up — that after everything I’d seen in the last few days, this felt like something darker, something connected to the men who had taken me?

No. I couldn’t. The girl I used to be would have believed it was innocent — that Mom had simply wandered outside and gotten lost again. But that girl was gone. The one who had been dragged across state lines, shoved down stairs, and forced to lie about losing her baby… she knew better. Telling them would only pull them into danger. June with her perfect life and growing bump, Hermes, Lia, even nosy Kayla — I couldn’t do that to them.
So I lied instead.
“I need some money,” I said, my voice coming out rough and breathless. “My mom needs my help at her store.”
June’s face fell instantly. She stared at me, confused and worried. “Your mom? Leila, we can go together. You need to rest and —”
“I need to go,” I cut her off, sharper than I meant to. “Can I have some money —”

“Good God, Leila. Let us help you,” Kayla said, then muttered something under her breath that sounded a lot like frustration.

Lia nodded too, her expression tight. They all looked ready to crowd me, to fix whatever was wrong with kind words and offers I couldn’t accept.
I bit down hard on my lip, fighting the burn of tears behind my eyes. They didn’t understand. They couldn’t. They still lived in a world where problems had simple solutions — where you called the police and everything would be okay. They had no idea what kind of darkness I’d stumbled into. They didn’t know how dangerous it was just to stand too close to me right now.

“Take this.” Hermes stepped forward, calm as ever, and held out a sleek black card. “The pin is written on the back.”

I stared at it for a second before taking it with shaking fingers.

“Go do what you need to do,” he added quietly.
June moved closer, her eyes soft with worry. “Just give us a call when you get there. Please.”

I managed a small nod, throat too tight to speak properly. “Thank you,” I whispered.

Without waiting for anything else, I turned and hurried down the hallway to the guest room. My hands moved on autopilot — grabbing the small duffel bag I’d barely unpacked, shoving in a change of clothes, my charger, the few toiletries I had.

\-----

“We’ve searched everywhere around your mother’s house and checked the nearby CCTVs. We didn’t see her anywhere. It doesn’t look like she came back here.”

The captain from the Henderson Police Department delivered the news with a sympathetic but tired expression. I stood frozen on the cracked driveway, staring at the small single-story house where I’d grown up — the same house I hadn’t stepped foot in since Tobias died.

I was so sure she would come here. She’d done it before when her dementia flared up. So why wasn’t she here now? What the hell was going on?

I bit my lip hard, turning back to the captain. “You have to find her, Officer. Please. She doesn’t know her way around anymore. She gets confused easily. Please—” My voice cracked, tears burning my eyes. “I need you to find her.”

“We’re doing everything we can,” he said gently. “My men are still searching the area, and my partner over in Spring Valley is coordinating too. We do have a few questions, though. Anything that might help us understand why she left or where she might go.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump in my throat as he pulled out a notepad and pen. For one wild second, I considered telling him everything — the men who took me from New York, the stairs, the miscarriage, the fact that I had shot a mafia leader who happened to be my dead lover’s twin. But the thought died as quickly as it came.

Stupid move, Leila. Your mother is missing. The last thing you need is to sound insane.

“Ma’am?” the officer prompted.

“Sorry. What was the question?”

“When was the last time you visited her at the shelter? Did she seem different at all? Any changes in her behavior or things she said?”

I shook my head. “It’s been months since I last visited. She… she didn’t even recognize me. She was the same as usual. She barely touched the food I brought her.”

He scribbled everything down, nodding. “Alright. We’ll keep searching and update you as soon as we have anything. If you remember any other details — no matter how small — here’s my card. Call me anytime.”

My hand trembled slightly as I took the card. I watched in silence as he and his partner climbed into their cruiser and drove off, leaving me alone in front of the quiet house.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady myself. “Don’t be too anxious, Leila,” I whispered, pressing a hand to my still-flat stomach out of habit. “You’ve been through worse. She probably just wandered off and got lost. They’ll find her.”

I reached for the front door, but my foot brushed against something on the ground — a plain brown envelope. I frowned and bent to pick it up. There was no address, no stamp, nothing written on the outside. Strange.

I tore it open carefully.

Inside was a single photograph — old, slightly creased, with that faded quality of pictures from decades ago. My mother stared back at me, young and smiling brightly, standing among a group of children.

My heart stuttered.

I scanned the faces more closely… and my blood ran cold.

In the middle of the group were two little boys — identical twins. I recognized them instantly. I had seen their childhood photos in the album Lia once showed me at the Millers’ house.

No. This couldn’t be right.

My mother knew Cain and Tobias.