Time flew by, and before long, Casey cooked supper for his family. He settled on spaghetti and meatballs with some garlic bread. Casey always loved baking and cooking, even as a little kid. So far, Wyatt had shown no interest in it, but he sure enjoyed eating anything Casey made.

While the pasta cooked, Casey got out some loose leaf paper and crayons to color with Wyatt. His son had been having fun doodling all kinds of shapes lately, along with some very artistic portraits of their family. Last time, Wyatt made his grandmother a purple blob. She loved the picture regardless and hung it up on the fridge with some alphabet magnets.

"Whatcha drawing?" Casey asked, peeking over as his son concentrated on scribbling a blue crayon across his paper.

"Me and Daddy." Wyatt pointed to each colorful, disfigured shape that barely resembled a human. "This is the park and this is our sled."

"Looks amazing. Definitely one that needs to go up on the fridge when you're done."

Wyatt grinned, continuing to color more while Casey checked on the pasta's progress and the garlic bread. Sparing a glance at the digital clock on the microwave, he realized his mom should be home soon. He'd be sure to save his dad and Lani their food for later.

While serving their supper that night, Casey couldn't stop thinking about the call he received from Veronica. Part of him considered visiting her again. The last time they'd talked was when he and his family filed for full custody of Wyatt during her trial to be sentenced. During that time, they'd called each other a lot of nasty names and Casey swore he'd never speak to her again.

So far, Wyatt hadn't questioned him about his mother's whereabouts, but he knew it was only a matter of time. He'd get curious, and Casey had a tough decision to make. Should he be honest or try to lie and protect him from what she did? Casey hated the thought of lying to his boy, but he didn't want to tell him about his mom, either.

As night blanketed the sky, Casey wondered if his mom got held up at the station again. Crime had been running rampant more than usual, with the gangs fighting over territory. Earlier that evening, there had been a drive-by shooting in Hell's Hollow. Two men had been killed and five others critically wounded at New Syracuse Memorial Hospital according to the news. Maybe his mom handled that case and got caught up in investigating.

Casey and Wyatt ate their spaghetti at the dining room table by themselves. He stowed leftovers in the fridge for everyone else. While cleaning up in the kitchen, he sent his mom another message and tried calling her. It went straight to voicemail. She had to be busy, but he wished she'd at least respond to him.

By the time Dad and Lani got home, his mom still hadn't come back. Which wasn't unusual, but she normally texted him when she'd be working overtime. Perhaps they got a break in their case and she didn't have the time to send a message about coming home later or answer his call.

"Your mom still not back yet?" Mr. Lockhart removed his coat and wool hat, making his way into the living room.

"Nope. Haven't heard from her either," Casey replied. "I guess she's putting in more overtime."

Mr. Lockhart nodded. "You know how she is when she's on a case. Like a dog with a bone. I'm sure she'll be home soon. Have you already had supper?"

"Yep. I've got leftover spaghetti in the fridge for you guys."

"Great cuz I'm starving." Lani moseyed her way into the kitchen.

"You have fun sledding with Wyatt?" Mr. Lockhart asked as they followed Lani to the kitchen, where she'd already started reheating her supper.

"Oh yeah, we had a blast out there," Casey replied.

He didn't mention how Veronica called him. It was best not to bring that drama up again. His dad kept pestering him to change his phone number to prevent that from happening and he never listened. Maybe he should have.

While his dad and sister ate their supper, Casey went to his bedroom and checked on Wyatt. His sweet boy was out like a light, clad in his favorite Spiderman pajamas. He was careful with cracking the door, ensuring he didn't wake him.

Casey sent his mom another text on his way back to the living room, taking a load off on the sofa. He'd sent her a few photos of Wyatt sledding earlier, but she never responded to those either. Whatever she was doing must've been important. Maybe they really got a lead in that drive-by. Surely she'd be home soon.

🧁

Dawn bled across the sky as Casey made his way through their silent house. Something felt off that morning, but he'd been too tired to put his finger on what it was. Wyatt still slept soundly in his bed, but as he entered the kitchen, he realized he wasn't the only one awake bright and early.

Bright red hair pinned back in a bun caught his eye. Lani stood in front of the coffee pot, having already brewed herself a steamy mug. Unicorns danced on her pajama bottoms, paired with a matching sleepshirt. Lani turned her head in his direction as he came around the counter, resting her mug on the counter-top.

"Mom never came back last night," Lani told him. "We've been trying to call her, but it goes straight to voicemail. Dad went out searching for her."

Casey frowned. "You don't think something happened to her, do you? We would've heard something from her colleagues by now, right?"

"I don't know." Lani bit on her trembling lower lip. "Dad told me not to worry and that he'd find out what's going on. He went down to the station cuz he couldn't get a hold of her boss. Told me to stay here and update you on everything. I'm not really sure what's going on. He promised to call me when he finds out anything."

"Jesus, that's weird. When me and Wyatt were down at the park sledding, I sent some pictures to Mom," Casey replied. "She'd left me on unread."

"She hasn't responded since then?" Lani asked.

Casey shook his head. "No, she usually reads my texts during her lunch break but I just thought she got caught up with a case. I mean, I'd understand if her job kept her busy, but she's never left this long without a word. I just thought something came up at work."

"Yeah, I know. What if something happened to her?" Lani paced the kitchen, taking sips of her coffee. "You think something might've gone wrong with one of their investigations? Those gang members have been getting more extreme lately."

"Maybe." Casey gripped his mug tightly. "I never said this last night, but Veronica called me."

Lani froze. "What? When?"

"While we were sledding," Casey replied. "I didn't answer. Now, I wonder if she's up to something."

"She's in prison. It's not like she can really do anything," Lani pointed out.

"I know. You're right. It's just coincidental how she calls right before Mom goes missing," Casey said.

"You don't think she put a hit out on her, do you?" Lani asked. "Maybe she still has ties to that gang of hers."

"There's something else too. Remember August? When I patched him up, I noticed the Black Vipers' gang tattoo on his arm. I told Mom about it. She warned me to be careful cuz she thinks the gang might get the wrong idea about our bakery, assuming we're sympathizers who will help them out."

"Shit. We need to tell Dad this and the cops," Lani said, snatching up her phone. "That August guy might be involved. Hell, maybe Veronica is too. It could be some kind of vendetta to get back at you."

Casey gulped. "Alright, let's call Dad. Maybe one of us could try driving around too? Or check out the police station? I'm sure someone must've seen her yesterday when she went to work."

Lani nodded, pressing her phone close to her ear. Amid the silence in the kitchen, even Casey heard the faint rings and soon, their dad's familiar voicemail system. "Can't answer the phone right now, leave me a message..."

"Double shit." Lani polished off her coffee. "What should we do?"

"I don't know. Who else could we call?" Casey asked. "You don't have any of mom's colleagues' numbers, do you?"

Lani sighed. "No, I don't. Wish I did."

Casey glanced back toward the hall, where his son still slept in their shared bedroom. There was no proof gang members had harmed their mom but it was weird how their dad wasn't answering now either. Surely there had to be a logical explanation for why she hadn't come home yet. And maybe their dad was driving and couldn't pick up the phone right away.

"Well, maybe I can try to find Dad," Casey suggested. "He's probably at the police station or the bakery already, right? If you don't mind staying here with Wyatt, I can check."

Lani nodded. "I can do that, yeah. Just keep me updated on everything when you see Dad, okay? This just isn't like her to disappear without saying a word."

After checking his phone for the umpteenth time, he donned his coat and leather driving gloves. He'd try the bakery first, since Dad should've already opened. If it was still closed, then he'd attempt the police station next. Perhaps one of his mom's colleagues knew where she'd gone and maybe Dad already got there.

When Casey reached his car in the garage, he started the ignition and cranked up the heat. He didn't bother letting it warm up. Too much adrenaline pumped through his veins as he opened the garage door and reversed out of their driveway. His worries only surmounted as he reached their unlit bakery. He noticed Xavier waiting beside the door, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey, man." Xavier greeted him. "Everything okay? I know we're usually open by now. Where's your dad?"

"Mom's missing," Casey told him.

"What? Shit, you think something happened to her at work?" Xavier asked.

"I don't know. She never came home last night. When I got up, Dad had already gone off looking for her. Lani told me. She's still at home with Wyatt. We can't reach him either now."

"You think those gangs have something to do with it?" Xavier asked.

"I'm not sure." Casey retrieved his dad's set of keys, unlocking the entrance door. He closed a brush of chilling air behind them after they stepped inside.

"What are you gonna do?" Xavier asked. "I mean, are we just going to open like usual?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I expected to find my dad here with you," Casey replied. "I was thinking about trying the police station next. Just wanted to get you out of the cold."

"I can help you search for your mom and we could stop by the police station. I'm sure your dad already filed a missing person's report though, so maybe we could just drive around where she was last known to be."

"Yeah, we can do that," Casey said. "I just wish Dad would answer me back. I'm worried about Mom and now about him, too. You don't think some gang members could've gotten to both my parents, do you?"

"Fuck, I hope not." Xavier moved behind the counter, pausing for a moment. "Hey, man. Check this out."

Casey frowned. "What is it?"

Xavier bent over, retrieving the police badge that always adorned his mother's uniform. Why was that at their bakery? Had she dropped by this morning? Casey couldn't understand why she'd stop by. There was no reason for her to be back at the bakery.

"Why's that here?" Casey came around the counter, examining the badge.

"You think your mom stopped by here?" Xavier questioned. "Maybe she was in a hurry and left this behind."

"But why would she be here?" Casey asked.

"I don't know." Xavier shrugged. "Let's look around a bit. See if anything's out of the ordinary. Maybe a report came in about someone lurking around the bakery? She might've stopped by, checked things out, and left when she saw nobody."

"That's possible," Casey said. "But wouldn't she have told Dad about it at least? What's with the silence?"

"I dunno, man. Maybe her phone died?" Xavier replied.

"It just makes no sense. She should've come home by now or at least called us somehow and explained what's going on," Casey told him.

Casey stepped into the back of the bakery, gazing around to see if anything seemed disturbed or if anything was missing. Xavier followed close behind him searching, as if some clues to his mom's whereabouts laid somewhere inside their bakery.

A brush of cold air pelted Casey's face when he opened the back door and his boots crunched through some dirty snow. The sun had risen over the horizon, yet it brought no warmth to his shivering body. But as soon as he reached the dumpster, he froze dead in his tracks. Droplets of red painted the snow.

The hair on the back of his neck bristled. His heart pounded in his chest. The thought of what laid inside that dumpster bin scared the hell out of him. Surely it was just blood from some animals fighting in the alley. That had to be the case. Yet, even though he tried to convince himself of that, he hesitated on opening the lid.

Careful not to step in the blood, Casey inched closer to the bin. A sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach made him reconsider everything. Maybe he should've grabbed Xavier or tried calling his dad again, but honestly, what more would that have done but delay the inevitable? He drew in a shaky breath, reaching one trembling arm out and with a rough yank, propped open the lid.

Words escaped Casey. Even his own lungs betrayed him, as he couldn't scream or utter a single sentence. His mom's body laid unearthly still on their trash bags; her limbs contorted in a way that almost made him sick to his stomach. Blood clung to the side of her face and spilled out all beneath her, dripping down into the crevices of the bin.

Casey staggered back. He couldn't stand the sight of his dear mom like that, thrown away like garbage. His tears felt like they'd freeze to his face, but he couldn't move a muscle. He had to tell someone. The cops, his oblivious friend inside, his family... But at that moment, he couldn't do anything.

The world around Casey blurred through his tears. He tried to pull himself together, struggling to keep himself from collapsing to the chilling ground in hysterical sobs. He'd just found his mom dead in their own bakery's dumpster.

At the sound of Xavier calling for him, Casey tensed as footsteps crunching through the snow came behind him. Xavier stepped over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?" Xavier asked, brows knitted in a frown.

Casey pointed a shaky finger at the dumpster bin. "She's..." He couldn't complete the sentence, couldn't let the reality sink in.

Xavier checked the bin himself, gasping in horror before slamming it back down. "Oh fuck. Oh God, Casey. I'm so sorry. Hold on, I'm calling the cops now."