A/N: This song is dedicated to Grandpa Geoffrey and Clementine 😭💔

"Evangeline, come here."

I close my journal and follow Grandpa into the bright hospital room. On the bed, I see Alyx. I've only met her a few times, but I like her. She always gives me candy.

In her arms is a tiny baby girl wrapped up in a light pink blanket, which seems to swallow her whole. I step closer, eyeing the little creature carefully. Although swaddled tightly, pieces of wispy orange hair peek out of the covering.

"Why does she have a baby?" I ask Grandpa.

Chuckling, Alyx says, "This is my baby, silly."

"When did you have a baby?"

"A few hours ago. Would you like to hold her?"

"Um, okay." I lean toward my grandpa and whisper, "How do I do that?"

He furrows his brow. "Do what, Vange?"

"Hold a baby."

He lets out a loud belly laugh before pulling out a chair for me to sit on. My eyes follow him as he takes the doll-sized creature out of Alyx's arms and carefully places her in mine.

Her little head rests against the crook of my elbow. I don't move, terrified that if I do, I might drop her.

"What's her name?" I inquire.

"Clementine," Alyx answers. "I thought it was fitting because of her hair."

I stare down at Clementine. She opens her eyes, which are green like mine. I smile at her, and she moves her lips, as if trying to smile back.

"Hi, Clementine," I coo.

"I think she likes you," Grandpa comments.

"How can you tell?"

"She cried when I held her. She's perfectly calm with you."

"I'm kinda nervous," I admit.

"Don't be. You're doing great," Alyx praises me.

Clementine closes her eyes again, her chest rising and falling with each sleepy breath. I try to look away, but I'm unable to. This little girl has me mesmerized.

"I think you two are going to have a really special relationship," Grandpa says, resting his hand on my shoulder.

I stroke the infant's soft cheek. "Yeah, maybe we will."

"Clem!" Sweat clings to my skin as I sit up, struggling to fill my lungs with air. "Oh, god, Clem."

Tears blur my vision. That was a happy dream. Reality, however, is much more disheartening.

Grandpa is in the hospital while he recovers from his massive heart attack. He had a complete blockage of a coronary artery—one that had been forming for months. It explains so much: the dizziness, the fatigue, the chest pain. I knew he was unwell. I should have forced him to go to the doctor.

And Clem has been missing for three days. Three. Fucking. Days.

An amber alert was issued. Cops all over the state are searching for her. I've hung so many flyers with her face on it that I could tell you how many freckles are on her nose—the answer is seventeen.

With each passing day, hour, minute, our chances of bringing her home decrease. I'm already starting to lose hope. What if we can't find her? What if I never see my little sister again?

"Baby, you have to sleep," Rem urges, wrapping his arm around my waist to pull me back down.

To my surprise, Gram was the one who suggested I stay with Rem. She's spent every night at the hospital with Grandpa, and she didn't want me home by myself.

"I can't sleep," I moan. "I can't stop thinking about my sister."

"Do you want to get out of bed?" he asks, knowing how much I hate doing nothing when there's a crisis.

Nodding my head, I push off the comforter and get dressed. He follows suit, stretching his arms as he lets out a yawn.

"You can go back to bed," I tell him. "I don't want you losing sleep over—"

"Stop," he shushes me, pressing his lips to mine in a tender kiss.

I feel a pinching sensation behind my eyes. I hide my face in the front of his sweatshirt, desperate to stop the tears before they start.

"Let's go downstairs." Rem slips his fingers through mine and leads me to the kitchen. Shockingly, the light is still on.

"What are you guys doing up?" Ambrose greets us, an array of papers and used coffee cups surrounding him.

"It's three o'clock in the morning. We could ask you the same thing, Dad," Rem replies.

"I'm working," Ambrose says with a shrug.

I pick up one of the documents. My sister's name is at the top of the sheet.

"Were you assigned to Clem's case?" I ask him.

"No," he answers, "but I've been looking into it."

"Have you found anything?" I sit down and start sorting through the papers.

"I'm working on a new lead."

"Which is...?"

"Well, I think her birth father took her," he admits with a straight face.

"Wh-what? How is that possible?" I ask incredulously. "Our birth father left two months ago."

"Did he, though?" Ambrose slides a piece of paper toward me.

I stare at the arrangement of letters and numbers, unable to decipher what they mean.

"Are these credit card charges?" Rem pipes in, snatching the sheet.

"Yep," his dad replies. "Seems like he's been staying at a hotel in Aurora."

"Aurora?" I shake my head. "There's no way. He told me he was in Manhattan."

"I think he's a lot closer than that."

"Okay, but why would he kidnap his own daughter?" I question him.

"Most children are abducted by family members—non-custodial parents in particular. The chances of getting kidnapped by a stranger are, like, less than one percent," he explains. "Plus, he hasn't made any charges to his credit card in three days."

Clem's been gone for three days.

"About a week ago," he goes on, "I pulled over a speeding Mercedes-Benz that was identical to his. The driver, however, was a sixty-year-old man who had just bought and registered the vehicle two days prior. He boasted about how this was his dream car and he paid cash for it. I didn't think much of it then, but now...."

I start to connect the dots. Benson lied to me. He's been in Illinois, not New York, this whole time. He sold his car and is walking around with loads of untraceable cash.

He came back to Chicago to reignite the spark with Alyx, but she rejected him. He didn't get what he wanted.

"He won't leave until he gets what he wants. He won't take no for an answer."

"Baby, are you okay?" Rem murmurs.

"Ambrose," I say, "how fast can you trace a phone call?"

"In as little as thirty seconds, technically. Why?"

"I have his number."

"He probably ditched his cell by now, Vange."

"It's worth a try, right? I mean, if it brings Clementine back...." Angry tears blur my vision. Quickly, I wipe them away and add, "My sister has been missing for three days. My grandpa is in the hospital. My entire family is in shambles, and it's all his fault."

Ambrose lets out a sigh. "Look, you're a seventeen-year-old girl. I don't want you in the middle of this. Why don't you just give me his number? I'll handle it."

"The call has to be from my phone," I insist. "As far as he knows, I still trust him. I'm the only person he'll talk to."

"She has a point, Dad," Rem sides with me. "The guy's crazy, but in his own fucked up way, he cares about her."

"I doubt it," I mumble.

"He drove out to that party at one in the morning, Vange, and he got you home safely. That means something."

I cross my arms, refusing to dwell on one of the few nice things he ever did for me. They don't make up for all of the unspeakable crimes he's committed. He will never change, and he will never receive absolution.

I was foolish to think otherwise.

"Alright, I'll call my FBI buddy in the morning," Ambrose finally gives in. "For now, I want you two to go back to bed."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I throw my arms around Ambrose's neck, hugging him tightly.

For the first time in three days, I have hope. Hope that we'll find my sister. Hope that justice will be served.

Hope that everything will finally be okay.

If you're looking for something fun and light-hearted to read... well, I'm sorry. If I teased a happy ending, would that help? 😅

Don't forget to tap that star before you go⭐️⭐️