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Kyla shook her head in disbelief. "Yeah, well, that isn’t too often these days, is it? You follow her around and listen in on all her conversations. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. You're crazy," she said.
John's expression darkened, and he grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her toward him. "Don't you dare call me crazy!"
John's eyes narrowed dangerously as he tightened his grip on Kyla's arm, causing her to flinch in pain.
"Don't you dare lie to me," John hissed. "I know you've always despised me. You're probably enjoying this, aren't you? My wife disappears, and suddenly, everyone's pointing fingers at me."
Kyla tried to pull away from him. "Let go of me," she demanded, her voice shaking with fear and anger. "You have no right to touch me."
The detective got up and signaled for help to a couple of officers. They reacted and approached them.
John smirked as they grabbed him and pulled him away from her. "I have every right. I'm her husband. It's my job to protect her."
Kyla stumbled back, startled, her eyes flashing with fury.
"Protect her?" she spat. "The way you protected her when you cheated on her? Or when you constantly belittled her and made her feel worthless?
John's face reddened with anger, but Kyla didn't back down. "You have no right to accuse me of anything. You're the one who has something to hide. Where were you when she disappeared?"
John's expression hardened as they held him and told him to please calm down. "You think you're so clever, don't you?" he snarled. "You think you can just accuse me of something and get away with it?"
Kyla stood her ground, refusing to back down. "I'm not accusing you of anything," she said firmly. "I just know that something isn't right here. Rachel wouldn't just disappear like this. You have to know something."
John's eyes narrowed, and he finally stopped fighting the officers. They let him go, and he sat down. As the uniformed officers stepped aside, he yelled:
"You want to know what I know?" he growled, again getting to his feet. "I know that you're a liar. I know that you're jealous of our relationship. I know that you're the one who did this.”
“Sir, I’m gonna need you to calm down now,” the detective said. “Sit down, sir.”
For a moment, John seemed to hesitate, his eyes flickering between Kyla and the two police officers watching them both warily. Then, he turned on his heel and stormed out of the station, slamming the door behind him.
Kyla stood there for a moment, her heart racing with adrenaline and fear. She knew that John wasn't telling her everything and that he was somehow involved in her sister's disappearance. But she didn't know how to prove it or what to do next.
She turned to the detective, who was watching her with a mix of concern and suspicion.
"What happens now?" she asked.
The detective took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly.
"We'll continue our investigation," he said finally. "We'll interview anyone who may have seen or heard something and follow up on any leads we get. But I have to be honest with you, Ms. Johnson. In cases like this, the first few hours and days are critical. The longer Rachel is missing, the harder it becomes to find her."
Kyla felt a lump form in her throat. She couldn't bear the thought of her sister being out there somewhere, alone and scared. She had to do something. She had to find her.
"I want to help," she said firmly. "I want to do whatever I can to find her."
PartI
WEDNESDAY
Chapter1
"Ha, I knew I could do it!"
I looked at my work, hands at my sides, a satisfied smile on my face. It wasn't half bad if I had to say so myself—not perfect, but good enough.
I had just finished laying the wood flooring for Elijah's bedroom when the phone began to ring. Matt and I had decided to try to do as many of the renovations on the house as we could ourselves to save money, and I was surprised at how well we were doing so far. Annoyed at the phone ringing, I stopped staring at my work. Crouching, sweat dripping from my forehead, I looked up at Matt, who was putting the final coat of paint on the walls, and nodded toward the phone. He nodded back but kept his attention on the task at hand.
I scrambled up and hurried to answer the phone, already knowing who it was: my boss, the Chief of the Cocoa Beach Police Department.
