Chapter 3

It had been almost two weeks since Cameron had asked me to look for their sister. I was following every lead I got, but the more and more dead ends I found the harder it was to get Cameron to smile. A smile that used to reach their eyes now barely showed. The twinkle in their eyes had dull and it was so heartbreaking to see Cameron wander aimlessly around the house. It had gotten so bad that Caleb had gotten involved. Even with Caleb there I felt lost. Caleb had told me not to be too hard on myself, but I couldn't help be feel responsible. There was no way to help Cameron that didn't end with bringing their sister back.

Caleb and I had been tempted to tell Jazmine and Niko about our little manhunt but had decided against it. It wasn't that I didn't trust either of them with this sensitive information or anything it just merely had to do with the fact that Jazmine, Niko, Caleb, and I had been running our small little guild and hadn't really had a lot of time for more personal things. Especially since both Jazmine and Niko had their own families to attend to.

Mothering five-year-old Amara was a full-time gig for Jaz even with her wife Lindsey while Niko and his boyfriend, Meyers were fathering thirteen-year-old Rhett and his six-year-old sister Finley. Finley was turning seven in about a week and Niko was extra busy planning her birthday party. Finley and Rhett may not have been Niko or Meyers' biological kids, but you could see in Niko's eyes that they were the loves of his life. The pride that my friend and his partner felt for those two was unparalleled.

I was walking back to my office when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Caleb standing behind me. I had been so caught up in my own thoughts that I hadn't heard him come up behind me. It had been a tough week without so much as a single indication that Cameron's sister was still with their parents. Even with the disheartening feeling that I had, I needed to pay more attention to the things around me. I had gotten better at not jumping when people unknowingly snuck up behind me trying to get my attention.

"I found something I want you to see." Caleb put his tablet in my hands. He had been going through surveillance footage near Cameron's parents' house. It wasn't the best place to start, but I didn't want to have to get our tech crew involved unless it was absolutely necessary. Caleb and I had been watching Cameron's parents and were learning their daily routines. It was long and boring work, but the one thing that kept me going was the thought of an ear to ear smile on Cameron's face.

"It's a surveillance video from the store right across from Cameron's parents' house. I was wondering if you could figure out who this is." Caleb zoomed in on what seemed to be Cameron's mom but some things didn't at up. The walk was slightly faster and her hair seem to be raven black instead of the light brown that Cameron's mother had. I watched the tape for a bit and realized that who I originally thought was Cameron's mom was actually their sister they must have dyed her hair. That must have been the reason why Caleb and I hadn't noticed her sooner.

"When was this," I asked as I handed him back his tablet. We reached my office and I wanted to grab the jacket that I kept on the back of my chair in case I needed to go somewhere quickly. I wanted to head out immediately to see if I could find Cameron's sister because I finally had a lead on her location. Caleb stopped, his eyes glued to the tablet. He shook his head and closed his eyes before opening his eyes to look at the screen again as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Caleb, what is it?" Whenever he couldn't believe something Caleb would freeze and stare until someone broke his concentration enough to get him to talk. Most of the older members had gotten used to this and were very good at getting him back on track.

"The video feed is from thirty minutes ago." he looked up at me, fully aware of what I was about to do. Knowing he was not going to stop me from going out right away he stood there with his hands holding his tablet as his brown eyes echoed how torn he was between going with me so I didn't do anything irrational and talking to Cameron about the good news. I wanted him to come with me but I knew that Cameron needed him more. Just the fact that their sister was still alive would have such a positive impact on them.

"Go tell Cameron. I'll be fine, but if I'm not back by ten send a search party."