“Are you okay?” Desperation drips through my voice.
She hums and hugs me. I hold her, stroking her hair, her back.
“You scared me.”
She doesn’t answer. Her breathing evens out.
I clench my jaw. Anger boils inside me. Guilt and self-hatred coil tighter.
Elowen
I hear Avi and Lyn calling my name. Slowly, I force my eyes open.
Avi looks at Lyn. They both look as if yesterday never happened, like it’s just another day.
“I’m telling her,” Avi says.
Lyn nods.
“What?” The word scrapes up my dry throat.
She helps me sit up and points toward the bathroom. I understand.
I climb out of bed. My legs feel weak, unsteady. It’s like I have a fever. I press a hand to my forehead. It’s burning.
They lead me inside the bathroom and close the door behind us.
“Dad is fine,” Avi says.
My eyes widen. “What are you talking about?”
She nods. “Everything was staged. To catch the mastermind behind the crash. Someone wants to kill Dad.”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
Now I understand why everyone was so calm. It feels like I was the only one kept in the dark.
Avi and Lyn exchange a look.
“Actually,” Lyn begins, “there’s a chance it’s the man who kidnapped you.”
I shake my head at once. “That’s not possible. He told me himself—he gave up on his revenge.”
“The men don’t believe that. That’s why they asked us not to tell you.” Avi pauses. “And you still can’t tell anyone we told you this.”
“And please don’t tell your kidnapper either,” Lyn adds.
I frown.
She holds up a placating hand. “I know you trust him. But no one else does. Let him prove it through the investigation. Then you can tell him whatever you want.”
“Okay. But why can’t we have this conversation outside?”
“Whoever did this hacked the entire network. He can hear everything through our phones and other devices.”
I sit on the sink counter, lightheaded.
“When will we know who’s behind this?”
