Chapter Twelve: Suspect
998 Words
Chapter Twelve
Sarah was walking out of the building when her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen-Sophie. She almost let it ring out. It had been a long day and all she wanted was to get to the school before the pickup rush, collect her kids, and just breathe. But Sophie didn't call unless it mattered, so she answered.
It was a situation that needed handling before close of business. Two, maybe three hours of work. Sarah stood in the corridor for a moment after the call ended, doing the math in her head. Then she dialed Madam Cassy.
"Madam Cassy, please - I need you to go to the school and bring back the kids. I'll be a little late."
"Okay, no problem. I'll head there now," Madam Cassy replied, her voice warm and unbothered the way it always was. Sarah had always loved that about her. Nothing ever rattled the woman.
"Thank you," Sarah said, and meant it.
She went back inside, freshened up, and halled a cab once she was ready. The city moved around her at its usual pace as she rode through the traffic, her mind already switching over to the task ahead. She was good at that-compartmentalizing. Putting one thing in a box so she could focus on another. It had kept her sane through a lot.
At the school, the afternoon pickup was in full swing. Cars filing in rows, children pouring out through the gates, teachers trying to keep order at the edge of the lot. Adin and Aria stood together near the front. Aria had her backpack hanging off one shoulder the way she always did, half-dragging it without noticing. Adin was scanning the road. He did that-watched things. Noticed things. He had been doing it since he was small and it still caught Sarah off guard sometimes, how aware he was.
A black car rolled up to the curb.
Nathan stepped out and his face broke into a wide grin the moment he spotted them.
Uncle!" Aria's voice cut straight through the noise. She craned her neck to look past him. "Where's Alex?"
"Hey, kids." Nathan crouched slightly. "Are you waiting for your mommy?"
"Yes," they both answered.
Adin said nothing. He just watched Nathan the way he watched things he wasn't sure about steady, giving nothing away.
Nathan glanced around once, then dropped his voice.
"Okay, guys. I came for something important and I need you to cooperate with me." He paused. "I just need to cut a tiny bit of your hair. That's all."
Aria tilted her head to one side. "Uncle, is it because Alex said he's our brother?"
Nathan blinked. That one caught him off guard. He scratched the back of his head, buying himself a second.
"Yes," he said carefully. "I just want to prove that what they're saying isn't true."
Aria nodded slowly, thinking it over the way she always did before she accepted something. Adin already understood more than his uncle realized. He had been listening. Placing things together from overheard conversations, from the tension that had been sitting over the house for weeks now like a low cloud that wouldn't move. He didn't say anything. He didn't want to cause trouble. So when Nathan produced the small scissors and the little envelope, Adin held still and let him do what he came to do.
Nathan took a small cutting from each of them, sealed the envelope carefully, and slipped it into his jacket pocket. He ruffled Aria's hair and said goodbye, then got back in the car and drove away.
Adin watched the black car until it disappeared.
A few minutes later, Madam Cassy arrived in a cab. The kids ran toward her the moment they spotted her face through the window.
"Grandma, what happened to mom? Why didn't she come pick us up?" Adin asked.
Your mom is very busy today. She asked me to get you both. Now let's go-I'm sure you're starving."
They climbed in and the driver pulled out of the lot.
Adin looked out the rear window. Just a glance, out of habit.
A red car pulled out behind them.
He kept watching. When the cab turned left at the junction, the red car turned left. When the driver slowed for a bump, the red car slowed too. Adin didn't move. Didn't say anything to Madam Cassy. He just kept watching and thinking.
Then he spoke, voice calm and easy like it was nothing.
"Sir, could you please drive us back to the school? I forgot my assignment book."
The driver turned around without a word.
The red car didn't follow.
Adin sat back and exhaled quietly. He didn't know who it was or what they wanted. He was smart-everyone said so-but he was still a kid, and the fear that crept in was real. He didn't like not knowing. He pulled out his phone and typed carefully.
"Mom, could you come to the school? Someone is following us."
He read it back once. Then he pressed send and stared at the screen, waiting.
Madam Cassy hadn't noticed any of it. She was talking about what she was going to cook for dinner, asking the kids if they wanted rice or pasta, completely unaware that Adin had just outsmarted whoever had been tailing them. Aria answered her cheerfully. Adin gave one-word responses and kept his eyes on the road behind them.
No red car.
Good.
He didn't relax fully, but the tight feeling in his chest loosened a little. He watched his phone screen, waiting for the three dots that meant his mom was typing back. He put the phone face-down on his knee and looked out the window instead, telling himself she was probably just busy. She was always busy. She would come.
She always came. The city passed by outside, indifferent and loud, and he sat quietly in the middle of it, doing what he always did. Waiting. Watching. Holding it together.
- Writer
