Con

CHAPTER 75

Sophia’s POV

I sat at Elijah’s desk, the phone pressed against my ear, listening to Reese chatter excitedly about her day at play school.

“Yes, Uncle Elijah wants to play with you this weekend,” I said, smiling at her enthusiasm. “He’s going to take you to the amusement park. Won’t that be fun?”

Reese’s excitement was palpable even through the phone. “Yay!” she squealed. “Can’t wait!”

After saying our goodbyes, I hung up and turned to Elijah, who was leaning against the door frame, watching me with a soft smile. “So is she really looking forward to the weekend?”

“Yeah,” I replied, smiling back. “She really enjoys your company, I think. Both of you will surely have a blast.”

“Aren’t you coming with us?” he asked softly, his eyes locking with mine.

My heart began to thump hard against my chest. “I’m not sure yet. I might be busy.” But I was lying.

I I The truth was, I did want to be with him and Reese. But I wanted to take things slowly, and see how this setup would affect all of us.

Later on, as I walked through the door of our house, I called out for Reese, expecting her to come running to greet me as she always did. But there was no answer.

Confused, I turned to Reese’s nanny, who was in the living room. “Where’s Reese?” I asked, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.

The nanny looked equally puzzled. “I thought you told me not to pick her up from play school today,” she said, showing me a message on her phone. “It sounded just like you. I even asked if

you were alright, and you answered yes.”

I took the phone from her trembling hands and read the message. It was written in perfect imitation of my style, but it wasn’t me. Goosebumps formed on my skin, and I felt the sweat pooling in my hands.

I know she’s definitely not in school anymore. I just called there earlier.

I hurriedly dialed Kayla’s number, my heart pounding in my chest. The phone rang once, twice, before. she finally picked up.

“Hey, Sophia, what’s up?” Kayla’s voice was cheery, unaware of the panic gripping me.

“Kayla, have you seen Reese?” I blurted out, my words rushed.

There was a brief pause before she responded. “No, haven’t. Why? Is everything okay? Maybe Daniel picked her up from her school?”

But he’d usually call if he did that,” I said in a trembling voice. “She’s not in school anymore, and she’s not home either. Anyway, I’ll call you again. Let me just ask Daniel.”

I quickly ended the call and dialed Daniel’s number. It rang, and rang, until finally, he picked up. I

asked him the same thing, and he was greatly surprised and worried. “I haven’t seen her, Sophia. What’s going on?”

+15 BONUS

I explained it quickly to him, tears welling up in my eyes. He offered to call Reese’s teacher, and i thanked him and said goodbye for the meantime. I was eager to keep checking other possibilities.

Where could Reese be? Suddenly, a thought struck me. Elijah.

I

I quickly dialed his number, my fingers shaking as I waited for him to pick up. After a few rings, he finally answered.

“Sophia, what’s wrong?” Elijah’s voice was filled with concern.

“It’s Reese! She’s no longer in school and she’s not here at home either. You may have gone to pick her up after we talked today?”

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t. I’m actually still here in the office.”

“Oh, god!” I cried out, feeling like I was about to die. What if she got kidnapped? What if she’s hurt right now? Oh, no! This can’t be happening!

“Sophia, don’t panic, alright?” Elijah said, trying to be strong for both of us. His voice was firm and brave. “I’ll call the police right away. I’m on my way down now. I’ll pick you up and we’ll head straight to the school, alright?”

On the way to the play school, Daniel said he wasn’t able to speak to the teacher yet. He and Kayı were going to check the areas around the school.

Meanwhile, when Elijah and I reached the school, we got to talk to the security guard who told us he didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Eventually, we also got hold of Reese’s teacher who was able to give us some pertinent information.

“It was a lady who took Reese,” the teacher explained. “She said she was her aunt. She looked like Reese, and Reese seemed to know her and didn’t resist, so I let her take Reese. I’m so sorry.”

Elijah’s brow furrowed with concern. “Can we see the surveillance footage?” he asked.

The teacher led us to the security room, where we reviewed the footage. To our dismay, all we could see was the back of the woman. She was wearing a hooded jacket, obscuring her face and hair. The grainy footage showed her leading Reese to a red car parked nearby.

Suddenly, Elijah’s words pierced through the silence like a thunderclap.

“That’s Serena’s car.”

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