Travis is in the kitchen, hunched over his laptop, a half-drained cup of coffee sitting beside him. His focus stays locked on the screen, fingers moving in short bursts across the keys. He hasn’t been sleeping. Not since the video. Not since we watched Samantha die on screen.
I step inside. He looks up, his eyes landing on me first. His gaze sharpens slightly as he takes me in, then flicks past me toward the hallway.
“You and Seth make up?” he asks, his eyes flicking past me again toward the hallway. “Based on the noise, I’m guessing yeah.”
My gaze darts from the floor to him. “I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on right now, but I need your help.”
He sits up, alert. “With what?”
“I need you to search the Oregon CPS database. Two minors. Elise and Ryan. They’re Samantha’s kids. Seth’s half-siblings.”
Travis’s jaw shifts. “You think they’re alive?”
“They have to be,” I reply. “Grant would’ve killed them on that call if they were there. Their dad died a few years ago, and she didn’t have any other family. So they’re all alone.”
He leans forward, pulling the laptop closer. “If she didn’t name a guardian, the state would’ve stepped in fast.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. If they’re in the system… Grant could easily find them. And after what I did to his family, he'll be looking.”
He is already typing, his eyes flicking across the screen. “Got it. Give me a second.”
The silence stretches as his fingers move. Then—
“Found them. Elise Roberts, fifteen. Ryan Roberts, fourteen. Jefferson High in Portland. Emergency foster placement with Patricia DeWitt. Samantha updated her paperwork two years ago, listing her as a backup guardian. Looks like CPS honored it.”
My heart thuds. “We have to get them. Grant will come for them if we don’t.”
“We have to move quickly,” Travis sighs. “I guarantee you if Grant’s people are digging, they’ll be found. They’re vulnerable, Brooke.”
“I know…That’s why I have a plan.”
Travis looks at me sideways. “What kind of plan?”
“I need Naomi.”
His brows lift. “Naomi?”
“She has reach. She still has followers, the TikTok audience. If she frames it like a contest or a fan meet-up, we can get the kids to come to her without tipping off anyone watching them. If we roll up in person, we risk getting flagged. But if it’s Naomi, it just looks like content.”
“You want to bait them with influencer clout?” he mutters. “That’s crazy as fuck, but it might actually work.”
“I need you to call her. She trusts you.”
Travis hesitates, then nods slowly. “Alright. I’ll call her.”
Chapter 65
Seth
Istill hear that gunshot. I still see my mother fall backward. The blood was already spreading by the time her body hit the floor. I couldn’t move. I keep replaying what she said before it happened.
I never stopped loving you.
I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.
I didn’t believe it before. Not until I saw her die for it.
And now the weight of it just sits on my chest like punishment. I never should’ve doubted her in the first place.
