Chapter 88
The walls felt like they were closing in.
“What do you mean Mason is gone?” Elias’s voice thundered through the living room, sharp and trembling at once. His hands were gripping the edge of the couch so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Mila stood in front of him, her small frame shaking. Her curls bounced slightly as she nodded, eyes wide and red from crying. “We were playing outside,” she said, her voice breaking, “and we heard a dog barking. Mason said we should go see the puppy. I told him no, that Daddy would be angry at us but Mason said you would not know.”
Jace’s chest constricted. He could barely breathe.
Mila sniffed, her lips trembling. “So we went outside the gate and saw a man with a puppy. It looked hurt. Mason ran to him, and they talked. The man said he needed Mason’s help to take the puppy to the hospital to get treatment. And… and Mason followed him.”
The last word hung in the air like a death sentence.
Jace froze, staring at his daughter as if his mind refused to process what she had just said. Then suddenly, the colour drained from his face.
“What?” The word came out strangled.
He did not wait for an answer. His body moved on instinct, he bolted out of the living room, out through the front door, his heart pounding so loud he could barely hear anything else. Elias followed right after him, his voice echoing down the hallway.
“Jace! Wait .... Jace!”
The front gate was wide open.
Jace’s bare feet hit the pavement as he ran out, scanning every corner of the street. “Mason!” he shouted, his voice cracking. “MASON!”
But there was no answer. Only the faint chirping of birds and the distant hum of passing cars. The street was empty.
Elias reached him, panting, eyes darting wildly. “Do you see him?”
“No,” Jace whispered, his voice trembling. He turned in circles, calling his son’s name again and again until his throat burned. His knees felt weak, his vision blurring.
“Mason!”
Elias grabbed Jace by the shoulders, forcing him to stop. “Jace! Listen to me! We’ll find him, okay? We’ll find him.”
Jace’s breath came out in shallow gasps, his chest heaving. He clutched at Elias’s shirt, his voice shaking uncontrollably. “He’s gone, Elias! Mason’s gone.... he’s just a kid— ”
“Do not say that.” Elias’s voice was steady but his hands were shaking. “We’re calling the police. Now.”
Elias pulled out his phone with trembling fingers and dialled, barking instructions into the receiver. Within minutes, the quiet suburban street filled with flashing red and blue lights. Neighbours peeked through their curtains, whispering, their faces pale.
Jace stood still on the front porch, hugging himself as the officers fanned out across the yard, asking questions, taking notes. His mind felt foggy, like he was underwater. He could still hear Mason’s laugh echoing from earlier that morning.
The sound hit him like a knife. His stomach twisted so hard he thought he might throw up.
One of the officers, a tall woman with dark hair pulled back in a bun approached them. “Mr. Crane?”
Jace blinked, then realized she was talking to him. “Yes,” he croaked.
“We are going to need a full description of your son and any details about what happened. Your daughter said she saw a man?”
“Yes,” Elias said quickly, stepping forward. “She said they followed a man who claimed to have an injured puppy.”
The officer nodded, scribbling notes on her pad. “Where is your daughter now?”
“She is inside,” Jace murmured. “She’s scared.”
“Would you mind if we spoke to her?”
Elias hesitated, glancing at Jace.
Jace nodded slowly. “She will talk. Just… please find my son.” His voice cracked on the last word.
They led Mila gently to the porch, where another officer crouched to her level, speaking softly. Jace watched from a few feet away, his heart hammering as he tried to steady his breathing. Every second that passed felt like an eternity.
“Sweetheart,” the officer said kindly, “can you tell us what the man looked like?”
Mila rubbed her eyes, thinking hard. “He was tall. He had a cap. And…” Her little face scrunched as she tried to remember. “His hand looked strange.”
“Strange?” the officer repeated.
“He had a burn on his left arm” she whispered.
The world tilted for Jace.
He swayed where he stood, his body locking up as if struck by lightning. His breath hitched, his lips parting soundlessly.
Elias turned to him immediately. “Jace?”
But Jace was not hearing him. His ears were ringing, his pulse roaring in his head. He stumbled backward a step, then another, clutching the wall for balance. His skin turned ghostly pale.
No.
No.
After all these years... five long years...he could not have found them.
Elias reached for him, gripping his arms. “Jace. What is it? What is wrong?”
Jace shook his head weakly, his lips trembling. His voice came out broken. “It can not be him.”
Elias frowned, confusion creasing his brow. “Who?”
But Jace did not answer. His mind was racing, flashes of memory blinding him— the severed finger in the box, the note scrawled in red ink.
Jace sank to the porch steps, his hands shaking violently. “No, no, no…”
Elias crouched in front of him, gripping his face, forcing him to look up. “Jace. Tell me what is going on.”
Tears welled in Jace’s eyes, spilling over as he whispered, “He is back.”
“Who?” Elias demanded, panic starting to creep into his tone. “Who are you talking about?”
Jace looked up slowly, his eyes glassy, filled with raw terror. His lips quivered as the truth clawed its way out of him.
“The man Mila saw,” he whispered.
Elias froze, his expression shifting as realization began to dawn. “Wait… what—”
Jace cut him off, his voice shaking uncontrollably. “Elias, it’s him. It’s Justin.”