Heat radiated up my neck, cooked my forehead. Her text hadn’t been about the dirty dishes cluttering the counter that she was supposed to put in the dishwasher. Or the toys scattered across the area rug that she was supposed to put in the toy box. The mess was our family. Vera had found out something she shouldn’t have. And if I didn’t find her soon, it could get her killed.

Panic stole my breath as I found myself slipping back in time, back to the day Vera disappeared…

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Felicity

APRIL

“I think it’s time to tell the kids the truth.” The truth. What a subjective word. These days, truth was a fog I wandered through. Impossible to grasp and as fleeting as a thought.

But the truth had been weighing on me a lot lately. Along with the half-truths that attached themselves to it.

“What truth, Felicity? About Sydney?” Evening sunlight darted across Oliver’s face, brightening the blue of his eyes. Other than fine lines that raked the edges, he hadn’t changed much since college. While time hit pause for him, for me it marched cruelly on.

“Yes, about Sydney. What else would I be talking about?” Lately Sydney’s diagnosis was all we talked about. We never spoke about the other thing.

His lips tightened in a crooked slash. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? It will only upset them. It seems a bit premature to be discussing it with Vera before we talk to the doctors first.”

I inhaled the moist air as seagulls squawked over the Allegheny River that flowed past the dock where we enjoyed dessert at one of our favorite taprooms in downtown Pittsburgh’s North Shore. Speedboats sped across the water, trailed by jets of spray and party music in a strange cacophony. The Allegheny River teemed with water lovers eager to let go of the long winter and embrace a warm spring. It had been a perfect night for outdoor riverside dining, a rare treat during April in Pennsylvania, but the scent of rain and a brooding sky portended a coming storm. The weather had held off long enough for us to get through dinner and half of my tiramisu, but now a chilly wind made me pull my sweater tight around my shoulders.

I reread the text that Marin had sent me after our Sisters Day Out earlier that afternoon, encouraging me to be strong after I told her the secret Oliver and I had been keeping from the whole family for months:

Thank you for entrusting me with your secret about Syd Squid. I know you’re scared, but I think you need to come clean to Vera. She’ll understand. I’m here for anything you need. You’re closer than blood to me, sis.