ChapterThree:AFriendIndeed
1033 Words
Cleo....
The soft ding of another message echoed in my chest like a gunshot.
Sophie: “Still nothing from Mia.”
I stared at the screen.
The text hovered like smoke, and with it, the weight I had been trying to ignore pressed harder against my ribs.
I didn’t reply.
Because I already knew.
Mia wasn’t just missing.
She was gone.
And I’d known she would be.
Ten messages, i could'nt reply even if i wanted to. my conscience was already killing me.
I sat still on the edge of my bed, spine stiff, muscles tight, as if the guilt might spill out if I moved the wrong way. My fingers dug into the blanket until the fabric bunched beneath my nails.
My phone buzzed again.
Sophie: “I’m coming over.”
Of course she was.
Sophie didn’t fake worry.
She didn’t know how to.
That’s what made it worse.
Because when she arrived her hair messy, face pale, fear radiating off her in waves I had to lie again.
“I’m sure she’s okay,” I said, my voice steady. Too steady. I didn’t even sound like myself.
“She probably just fell asleep somewhere.”
Sophie stared at me like she didn’t believe it. “You don’t mean that.”
I gave her a small, forced smile and shrugged. “You’re just being dramatic.”
But I was the dramatic one.
Because inside, I was screaming.
I remembered what my dad had said just last week.
“She won’t be hurt. That’s all you need to know.”
“She’s just part of the deal.” i have told you this from the get go. that was the reason you befriended her in the first place.
“ I told you not to get attached.”
But I had.
I’d gotten too close.
And now Mia was gone, and Sophie — sweet, relentless Sophie — was asking me to help find her like I wasn’t part of the reason she’d disappeared. A quiet elaborate plan i was a part of.
“We have to go to the police,” Sophie said, pacing now. “We can’t just sit here.”
I nodded too quickly. “Yeah… My dad can help. He’s head of Missing Persons.”
That part wasn’t a lie.
He could help.
He just wouldn’t.
Sophie stopped pacing. “You swear he’ll take it seriously?”
I met her eyes. Swallowed. “I swear.”
......................................................................
My dad’s office door was ajar when I knocked.
He looked up from his laptop, his face smooth as glass. “Everything okay?”
Sophie stepped forward before I could. “It’s Mia. She didn’t come home two nights ago. Her phone’s off, and she hasn’t answered any messages.” That.. that is unlike Mia she never ghosts.
He frowned. Just enough.
“I see.”
“She left the café alone around eleven. We’ve checked everywhere,” Sophie continued. “You can file a report, right? Maybe get her on the system early?” i have tried to reach her brother but i have not been able to get a hold of him.
He nodded slowly. “I’ll handle it.”
“Thank you,” Sophie breathed.
I forced a smile. “Thanks, Dad.”
He looked at me , just me for a beat too long.
Something passed between us. Not words. Not yet.
But the warning was clear.
When Sophie left and his door shut behind us, I lingered in the hallway. My skin itched. My heart beat like it wanted to betray me.
I turned back.
“Dad,” I said, voice low. “Where is she?”
He didn’t look up.
“She’s fine.”
“You said she wouldn’t be hurt”
“She won’t be.”
“That’s not enough,” I snapped, louder than I meant to. “You said she was just a name. A favor. You never said she was going to be taken, Sophie is going to be back, is.. is she dead?
That made him pause.
His fingers froze over the keyboard.
And that was enough confirmation. My heart started racing, did i just kill my friend...
“I didn’t know,” I whispered. “I didn’t know what you were doing.”
“I told you not to get attached.”
“She’s my friend!”
“She was never meant to be,” he said simply. “You were a means to access her. And now that she’s served her purpose...”
My palm cracked across the desk.
He didn’t flinch.
“You lied to me.”
“Don’t play innocent, Cleo,” he said. “You’ve known what I do. You’ve taken the money. You’ve lived in this house built from that syndicate.”
Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. “That’s different.”
“No. It’s not.”
He looked at me then, and for a moment I saw the man I used to believe in. Not the badge. Not the stories. Just my dad.
But he was gone.
“I trusted you,” I whispered.
“You’re still alive,” he said, “so you should.”
He turned back to his screen, dismissing me.
And I stood there, fists clenched, heartbeat thudding like a second clock ticking in my chest.
I went into my room and for the first time it hurt.. this was'nt the first time ive done dirty work for dad.
But this time i could not hold back the guilt. Mia was a good girl she was broken in pieces no one could pick up but yet she was always there.
I thought i was winning her over but she won me over, I'm.. i'm sorry mia...i sobbed for the first time after my mom's death..
.................................................................................
Later that night, when the house was quiet and even the shadows seemed tired, I crept back into his office.
I shouldn’t have.
But I had to know.
I pulled the laptop toward me, heart in my throat.
Logged in.
Accessed the restricted files.
And found it.
MIA_WHITMORE_CONTRACT.pdf
as i stared, eyes wide open.
A sharp creak behind me snapped me back.
I turned.
- Writer
