Chapter 4

The DNA test would take several hours.

My father did not wait outside the lab. Instead, he told his assistant to keep looking for me.

In his mind, waiting for the report was not the fastest way to find out what had happened.

He believed they would bring me back from a hotel or a friend’s home before the results came in.

No one at my university had heard from me.

My old apartment on the Southside was empty.

There were no airline, train, or bus tickets booked in my name.

None of that proved I was in danger.

I could have checked into a roadside motel under a different name. I could also have been staying with a friend they did not know.

After listening to his assistant’s report, my father gave one order.

“Expand the search area and keep looking.”

His voice remained calm.

He acted as though finding me was only a matter of time.

My mother sat nearby and checked her phone from time to time.

She no longer called me over and over.

After waiting for an hour, she sent me a message.

Come home when you’re done with this.

The message remained unread.

My mother placed her phone facedown on the table. Irritation showed on her face.

“She’s making sure we can’t find her.”

My father did not respond.

The hospital hallway was too quiet.

Whenever the elevator doors opened in the distance, my mother looked up without thinking.

It was never me.

Ethan sat outside the lab.

He never asked our parents to admit that the victim might be me.

There was still no evidence to prove it.

He simply knew me better than they did.

I would not call three times without a reason. I would not say I was in danger and then disappear completely.

At ten that night, Evelyn and Adrian arrived at the hospital.

My father told them Ethan had insisted on comparing the victim’s DNA with our family’s.

Evelyn froze for a moment.

She quickly recovered and walked over to my mother.

“Has Claire still not replied?”

My mother shook her head.

Evelyn let out a quiet sigh.

“She may need a few days alone. The engagement must have been hard for her. We should try to understand.”

She no longer accused me of trying to ruin the engagement.

She did not keep insisting that I must be alive.

She explained my disappearance as nothing more than me hiding because I was upset.

That explanation was far easier for my mother to accept than the possibility that I was the unidentified victim.

“When she comes home, I won’t punish her for what happened last night.”

My mother paused before continuing.

“But she cannot make the whole family worry every time she gets upset.”

Adrian stood nearby without speaking.

He knew I had asked him to save me.

He still believed I had lied because I wanted to stop the engagement.

Even now that no one could find me, danger was not the first possibility that came to his mind.

He thought I was taking the lie even further by staying gone.

Ethan suddenly looked at him.

“Did you call Claire last night?”

Adrian met his eyes.

“Yes, I did.”

“What did she say?”

“She said almost the same thing she told Uncle Richard.”

Adrian’s voice sounded stiff.

“She claimed someone had locked her inside a building.”

“Did you believe her?”

“No, I didn’t.”

Ethan asked nothing else.

Their conversation proved nothing.

I could have been asking for help.

I could also have been lying, as everyone believed.

They still had to wait for the DNA results.

Half an hour later, my father’s assistant called again.

They still had not found me.

My father checked the time.

“Continue tomorrow.”

He sounded ready to end what he considered a pointless wait.

My mother picked up her purse.

“How much longer will the report take?”

The nurse who had been communicating with the lab answered her.

“It should be ready soon. The lab is confirming the results now.”

My mother nodded.

She even turned to Evelyn.

“We’ll go home as soon as the results come back.”

She spoke naturally.

She was already certain the report would prove that Ethan’s suspicion had been ridiculous.

A little more than ten minutes later, the lab door opened.

A staff member came out holding the report.

My father stood up.

My mother set her purse down again.

“Can we rule it out?”

The staff member did not answer at once.

He checked the information on the report before looking at my parents.

“The samples were tested twice. Both tests produced the same results.”

My father frowned.

“What are the results?”

The staff member opened the report.

“The results confirm that the victim is the biological daughter of both Richard Hart and Helena Hart.”

My mother’s expression went blank.

She seemed unable to understand what he had said.

My father did not react either.

The hallway remained silent for several seconds.

The staff member continued.

“We can confirm that the victim is Claire Hart.”