Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Unfortunately, as I'd feared… it was too good to be true.
The other shoe does drop.
When Raine calls, it's like waking from a long, dense dream.
Claudia.
How did I let her slip my mind? I’ve been lost in everything with Julian and the chaos Daniel unleashed. For a brief moment, guilt grips me tighter than any fear. How could I forget?
I stare at my phone screen, Raine's number staring back at me.
I answer, eager.
His voice crackles through my phone speaker with an urgency that makes my pulse quicken. He tells me, his words measured but laced with barely contained excitement, that he's found something—something big, something he's absolutely certain I'm going to find very, very interesting.
Well, it’s about time. It’s been over a month.
His tone carries a weight that suggests this isn't just some minor detail he's stumbled upon. Whatever it is, it sounds important enough that he wanted to call me directly, rather than texting or waiting until we could meet up.
The way he says it sends a shiver of anticipation down my spine, mixed with a thread of anxiety. What could he have possibly found?
My mind races with possibilities, each more urgent than the last. I'm pleasantly shocked by the timing of his call, curious as a cat about what he's discovered.
The anticipation coils tight in my chest, making it hard to sit still.
I can't wait to find out what it is—what piece of this horrible puzzle he's managed to uncover.
Whatever Raine has found, I have a feeling it's going to change everything I thought I knew about Claudia's disappearance.
I'm high on adrenaline as I make my way to meet him, my hands gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly, my foot pressing the accelerator a little too heavily.
My entire body hums with nervous, curious energy—a buzzing sensation that starts in my fingertips and spreads through my chest, making it impossible to think about anything else.
Every nerve feels electric, alive with anticipation.
My mind won't stop racing, churning through possibilities, scenarios, what-ifs.
What could Raine have possibly discovered? What piece of evidence has he unearthed that's important enough to warrant this kind of urgency? The questions loop endlessly as I navigate the familiar streets, each turn bringing me closer to answers I'm not sure I'm ready to hear.
We meet at the same café. I buy him a coffee and a muffin, like the last time. The familiarity of the ritual somehow grounds me.
Raine looks at me over the rim of his steaming cup, a hint of triumph in his eyes. "I’ve got something you're going to want to see."
My heart thuds against my ribs as he slides a stack of papers toward me. "What is this?" I ask, fingers brushing the pages like they might burn.
"The texts I pulled from Dylan's phone," he replies, nodding toward the papers.
I sift through them, scanning words, snippets of arguments, sweet exchanges, emojis splattered between emotions. It feels invasive, reading someone's life in speech bubbles and timestamps.
Then I hit it. A conversation that chills me to the core. Dylan and Claudia, arguing passionately about someone else: an older man named Daniel.
My blood runs cold, freezing in my veins like ice water, suddenly replacing everything warm and living inside me.
"Wait," I whisper, my throat dry. "Daniel?"
"You know him?"
I'm almost speechless. "Uh… yes."
"Weren't you dating some guy named Daniel?” he asks, suddenly realizing. "I think I saw him on your socials."
I'm still shocked. "Uh… yeah."
"Good looking guy," he adds.
Ugh.
"Liza, listen," Raine says, leaning closer like he's sharing a secret meant to shatter. "Dylan's accusing Claudia of sneaking around with this Daniel. The texts go back and forth. There’s mentions of meetups and arguments over who she should trust. All involving this Daniel character."
Numbness wraps around me. "I didn't realize... I didn't know Daniel knew Claudia."
"You think it’s your Daniel?" Raine's voice sharpens with intrigue.
I can barely nod, my mind whirling. Of course it is. What were they involved in? How deep does this go? My stomach flips with a strange kind of dread, the edges of my world tilting.
In that moment, everything about Daniel becomes a new shade of sinister. He’s not just my nightmare, not just Julian's tormentor. His darkness reaches further, touches more people than I imagined. Claudia could be in more danger than I ever thought possible.
"And there's more," Raine tells me. "It's kind of ironic that Dylan was on her case about seeing this other dude, when the whole time, he was tapping some other girl named Amber."
"Really?"
“Yeah… tons of filthy texts and pics too, a real skanky girl covered in tattoos with long red hair. Real trashy. I bet she's a lot of fun."
"Raine!!" I deadpan, appalled by his words. "Don't you have any respect?! I really don't give a shit about this Amber girl… this is about Claudia."
He raises his palm up in apology. "Sorry."
Idiot.
"Seriously, Raine," I say, voice shaky but determined, "I need to see this through. We have to figure out what's happened to her."
His eyes meet mine, serious and steadfast. "I’ll help you. Whatever you need."
"We really should bring this to the police," I tell him. “But first, I want to run this by my friend Colleen… she's Claudia's aunt."
"Sounds like a plan," he says, a little too eagerly. "This is cool… like being a detective on C.S.I."
I roll my eyes. "A girl is missing, Raine."
His smile instantly fades. "Sorry… you're right."
"Thank you," I offer. "Thank you for doing this for me." It took long enough, but it was definitely worth the wait. "You're amazing."
Mildly insensitive, but amazing.
"In a techie proficiency way," I'm quick to add—I really don't want him getting any ideas about the two of us.
"Of course I am, and I'm glad you recognize my very impressive talents."
I shake my head, and can't help but smile, despite the seriousness of the situation.
Once again, I'm dragged deeper into a dangerous game spun by a man I'd once thought I knew.
The problem is, I never knew Daniel at all.
Colleen steps into Julian's place and pauses, eyes sweeping over the dark walls, the velvet orange sofa, the piano gleaming against the exposed brick. "Wow. This place is amazing."
"Right?" I close the door behind her. "Julian's mom helped him decorate."
"She has great taste." Colleen runs her fingers along the back of the sofa. "How's he doing? How’s his hand?"
"Better. He's out grabbing lunch and hitting up the vintage record shop down the street."
"Good. I'm glad he's doing better." She sets her purse down, concern flickering across her face. "And you two? Are you doing okay?"
"We're good. Really good, actually."
"I'm happy for you, sweetie."
"Coffee?"
"Please."
I pour us both a cup in Julian's tiny kitchen, the dark wood cabinets framing us like a confessional booth. When I hand her the mug, I can't hold back anymore.
"Colleen, we need to talk about what Raine found."
Her expression hardens. "Show me."
I spread the printed texts across the black granite counter. She leans over, reading intently, her fingers tracing the lines like she's trying to summon Claudia from the ink itself.
"Dylan was cheating on her," I say quietly. "And she was also cheating… seeing Daniel."
Colleen's jaw tightens. "Your Daniel?"
"Obviously," I tell so. "Keep reading… it's all there; older man, owns the building, and his texts…"
Colleen reads for another minute, her face draining of color. She sinks into the stool, gripping the edge of the counter.
"Her texts are so revealing. This man was smooth. Charming. Read this one," I tell her, pointing at one of Claudia's texts.
He makes me feel so special. I matter to him, Dylan! He treats me like a princess… pays for everything, spoils me… unlike you! He understands me better than you do. You're too immature for me. Older men are so much smarter when it comes to relationships.
I point to a cluster of texts dated from months ago. "Look at the progression. First, he's just a friend. Helpful landlord. Then he's asking her about school, her dreams. Next thing you know, he's buying her things. Taking her to dinner."
"Yeah, that's when Dylan becomes suspicious."
"Dylan isn't a complete idiot."
"That sick bastard," Colleen whispers.
"He groomed her. Slowly. Efficiently. Like he had all the time in the world." My stomach twists. "He made her believe she was different. That what they had was real."
Colleen flips to another page, her hands trembling. "Dylan noticed. He kept asking her who this guy was. Told her something felt off."
"Dylan's a scumbag, but even he saw through it." I lean back against the counter, arms crossed. "He was jealous, yeah. But he was also worried. Look at this one.”’
Babe, this dude's playing you. why's a grown man so interested in a 15-year-old?'
"And she defended Daniel." Colleen's voice cracks. "Told Dylan he was controlling. That he didn't own her."
"Daniel convinced her Dylan was the problem. Classic manipulation. Isolate the victim. Make her believe everyone else is the enemy."
"Jesus Christ, Liza."
"I know."
She looks up at me, eyes red-rimmed. "You think he hurt her? You think he—"
"I don't know. But I think he's capable of anything."
Colleen presses her palms to her face, breathing hard. "I should've known. I should've seen the signs. She was always so secretive, defensive. I thought it was just teenage rebellion."
"You couldn't have known. Daniel's good at what he does. He fooled me, too. He played all of us."
She drops her hands, staring at the texts like they might rearrange themselves into something less horrifying. "We need to take this to the police."
"Agreed. But we need more. These texts prove Claudia was seeing someone older. They don't prove it was Daniel."
"Then we get more." She exhales slowly, shaking her head. "What do we do with the phone?"
"That's what I wanted to ask you."
"Throw it in a dumpster," she says without hesitation. "The guy's an asshole. Cheated on my niece. Karma."
I blink. "You sure?"
"Completely." She leans back, crossing her arms. "I can't believe you had to kiss that guy. I'm so sorry about that."
Heat crawls up my neck, and I get the urge to vomit for a long second. "Yeah, well… you owe me."
"I absolutely do… no argument there."
We both smile, the energy sharp and oddly freeing despite everything hanging over us. The absurdity of it all—the stolen phone, the fake flirting, the kiss—clashes with the horror of Claudia still missing.
Colleen's laughter fades first. "But seriously, Liza. This thing with Daniel… it's bigger than I thought."
"I know."
"We need to figure out what he did to her… if he did anything.”
My stomach twists. "I know. I'm sure he had something to do with her disappearance."
Colleen's shoulders cave inward, and the mug slips from her fingers, landing on the table with a thud. Thankfully, it's empty.
"Hey." I move around the table, crouch beside her. "We're going to find her."
"You don't know that." Her voice is barely a whisper. "She's been gone so long. What if—"
"Don't."
"What if he killed her, Liza?"
The words hang between us, sharp and terrible. I pull her into my arms, feeling her body shake against mine. She's always been the strong one—the woman who held me together when things were dicey with Daniel, who taught me how to make lasagna from scratch. Seeing her crumble like this guts me.
"We don't know anything yet," I murmur into her hair. "We're not going to throw the phone into a dumpster. We’ll take it to the police. They'll reopen the case. They'll look into Daniel. This changes everything."
"Does it?" She pulls back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "They didn't care before. They said she ran away. That she was troubled. That she'd come back when she was ready."
"That was before we had proof she was involved with a grown man. An older man who owns her building. A man with a history of—" I stop myself, swallowing hard. "They'll have to listen now."
Colleen nods, but her eyes are hollow. "I should've pushed harder. Should've demanded they investigate. But I believed them. I thought maybe she did just run away. Maybe she wanted a fresh start."
"You couldn't have known."
"I was her guardian. I was supposed to protect her."
"You did everything you could. You loved her. You took her in when no one else would."
She closes her eyes, fresh tears sliding down her cheeks. "I miss her so much. Every day I wake up hoping she'll walk through the door. That she'll tell me it was all a stupid mistake. That she's sorry."
I squeeze her tighter, my own throat burning. "We're going to find answers. I promise."
"Don't make promises you can't keep."
"I'm not." I pull back, gripping her shoulders. "We're going to nail that bastard. For Claudia. For me. For everyone he's ever hurt."
Colleen searches my face, something fierce flickering in her expression. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"Let's do it. Let's take him down."