33. Hellhoe

It felt like a sudden shock of cold water was poured on me when I realized what was happening. We couldn't leave Ariah's learning school because we didn't know where to start looking!

"I'll call someone. Stay here, Celeste," Arik said firmly as he dialed a number on his phone. "Damn it! Fuck!"

"Ms. Celeste, I'm so sorry. I had no idea... The guy had a companion. They introduced themselves as Ariah's relatives, so I let them go. They even showed us a picture of them with you, so I believed them. I'm really, really sorry," Amelia explained, clearly distressed.

I was stunned. I quickly glanced at Amelia when she mentioned something that caught my attention.

"Relatives?" I asked Amelia, completely puzzled. "But Ariah only has Oliver, Benj, and Sarah as her uncles and aunt. You know them, right?"

She shook her head. "No, Ms. Celeste. They weren't them."

"Do you know their names? Did they say anything?"