Chapters (97)
- Cover
- Back Cover Text
- Praise
- Booklist
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Fifty-Seven
- Fifty-Eight
- Fifty-Nine
- Sixty
- Sixty-One
- Sixty-Two
- Sixty-Three
- Sixty-Four
- Sixty-Five
- Sixty-Six
- Sixty-Seven
- Sixty-Eight
- Sixty-Nine
- Seventy
- Seventy-One
- Seventy-Two
- Seventy-Three
- Seventy-Four
- Seventy-Five
- Seventy-Six
- Seventy-Seven
- Seventy-Eight
- Seventy-Nine
- Eighty
- Eighty-One
- Eighty-Two
- Eighty-Three
- Eighty-Four
- Eighty-Five
- Eighty-Six
- Eighty-Seven
- Eighty-Eight
- Eighty-Nine
- Acknowledgments & A Personal Note
- Excerpt
No it’s OK. It’s probably a phone glitch. I’ll be home in a few hours. Thanks Cecil. Keep me posted.
Will do, partner.
Setting his phone down, Ben let his head fall back on his headrest and gazed outside into the night.
Who hired private investigators to surveil Emma?
Ben struggled to think, looking head-on to the fact he should stop being an idiot and contact police.
And tell them what? My wife is a convicted murderer from Canada and I can’t locate her or my daughter. The crime was twenty years ago—she’s served her time, done nothing wrong, is a model citizen now, but…but what?
She hid her past from me.
Ben shut his eyes and took a slow deep breath.
Then he took up his phone and stared at a recent picture of Emma, smiling. Happy. Beautiful.
Exhausted, Ben put his phone down and shook his head, gazing outside to lights below.
I’m losing it. No, no police. Emma would never hurt Kayla. I just know it. I need to talk to Emma.
The pilot made an announcement about starting their descent into Los Angeles.
Attendants distributed customs cards to be completed before entering the US.
It was a smooth landing. Ben made good time clearing customs and called an Uber to take him home.
As the car sailed along the freeways of greater Los Angeles and into Orange County, he continued trying to reach Kayla and Emma without success.
Eighty
Cielo Valle, Orange County, California
Present day
The exterior lights of Ben’s house were on when he arrived home about 1:30 a.m.
They were preset with a timer switch.
All was quiet when he got inside. He walked through the house to the interior garage door and opened it. His car was there. Emma’s car was gone.
He went upstairs. Their bedroom was empty. Kayla’s bedroom was empty. He checked every room upstairs.
No sign of anyone.
He went downstairs to the living room and kitchen, switching on all the lights. No sign of Tug. No notes on the fridge. He checked the landline. No messages. The only calls showing were the ones he’d made.
Looking around, he saw Emma’s phone and laptop on the kitchen table.
What the—
He thought about logging on to Emma’s devices but didn’t know the passwords.
Ben went back upstairs and searched for Kayla’s phone in vain.
He had an idea. Hurrying downstairs, Ben unzipped his bag, pulled out his laptop. He knew it was possible to track Kayla’s phone and her location. He went to the accounts for the family phones, zeroing in on Kayla’s. He went to the instructions on how to track a missing or stolen phone, reading as fast as he could.
He cursed.
With the type of phones and package they had, Ben couldn’t track Kayla’s phone if the battery was dead or it was off.