Chapter 82
KIERA
I blinked, but the image on the television didn’t change. My abusive ex-boyfriend was on the local news, white-knuckling a press podium while he gave a tearful address about my disappearance.
And it wasn’t just him — among the ranks of police officers and suited men flanking him was my mother. Maura was cloaked in a black fur, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief like a newly wealthy widow.
There’s no way she could afford that outfit off what I’d sent her alone.
I bristled at the thought that I’d been living hand to mouth to pay her rent while she was racking up debt for designer clothes. But that was the least of my concerns right now.
It seemed that putting my foot down with Maura had consequences after all. They just weren’t the ones I’d expected. And rather than accepting my boundary with any modicum of grace, she happily escalated from harassing calls and texts to conspiring with my shitty boyfriend to sick the cops after me.
Worse though was the fact that she had the audacity to stand up there and play the grieving mother, like this was about my safety rather than her financial security. “What a fucking leech.”
Still on top of me, Dom released some of her pressure as her own eyes were glued to the screen.
And then there was Gabe, with his hair greased back and his too-big suit. He looked like a sad child rather than the powerful businessman he so desperately wanted to be. Probably by his publicist’s design. Drum up some sympathy for the circus…
“Kiera was last seen on the night of October 9th outside of Red Poison in downtown Stonewick. We were out celebrating my company’s acquisition when I was violently assaulted by two masked men outside the bar.
“I tried to defend Kiera, but two-against-one, I was overpowered, sustaining a concussion and several tissue-wounds during the altercation. As I tried to get back to my feet, one of these men grabbed Kiera, forcing her onto the back of a motorcycle and disappearing with her into the night.
“We have tried reaching her via her phone, but her correspondence has been brief and sporadic. Her poor mother has hardly heard from her in weeks, and we have reason to believe that her captors are controlling her communications as well as her bank accounts.”
I bit my cheek at that. I fucking knew I should have just answered the phone.
Gabe continued, clearing his throat. “This is not the Kiera I know. Kiera is a kind and caring girl, a loving partner and daughter. She would have never disappeared on us like this willingly, and she would certainly never worry her mother if she could help it. Something is deeply wrong… excuse me.”
At this point, tears welled in his eyes. He turned his head, taking a dramatic pause before looking back to the cameras. “I’m sorry about that. Something is deeply wrong. Kiera has always looked to me as a protector, and I may have failed her that night, but I refuse to fail her now.”
My jaw dropped. Protector? Gabe was the furthest thing from that. These ‘violent criminals’ who supposedly targeted him that night were there to protect me from him.
Even Dom couldn’t stomach that one, a huff of a laugh exhaling from her nose as she watched him.
“Although this is the first you, the public, are hearing about this case, I would like to make something very clear. We have been searching tirelessly for Kiera since she disappeared. And we have no plans to stop until she is brought safely home.”
A round of applause rippled through the crowd. Maura nodded tearfully behind Gabe, endorsing his message.
In the break for applause, my eyes caught on Dom, just as glued to the TV as I was. Her head had whipped to the screen the second Gabe’s voice came out of it, her body coiled with tension before my name was ever mentioned.
She recognizes him.
But… how?
She hadn’t been there the night Spencer and Leo found me, and I couldn’t remember ever mentioning his name to her. Even if she’d figured out his name and looked him up, it didn’t explain the speed of her reaction, nor the hatred and confusion emanating from her very core.
Dom knows Gabe. Like, really knows him.
That knowledge pierced me with one-hundred percent certainty. But before I could press her on it, Gabe began to thank the crowd, pulling my attention back to the TV.
“Thank you. Thank you very much.” He smiled weakly, feigning that he was touched by the applause before clearing his throat.
“Up to this point, we have exercised the utmost discretion in our search at the advice of the Greene County police departments. But at this juncture in the investigation, we’ve decided it is no longer prudent to cooperate with that advice. ”
Behind Gabe, the police commissioner stiffened, a slight frown pulling at his lips as Gabe continued.
“It is the opinion of those of us closest to Kiera that moving quietly has allowed crucial time and evidence to slip through the cracks. Recently, one such piece of evidence was discovered by the dedicated developers at my company, Spyre. The night of Kiera’s disappearance, a user uploaded a video to our servers, seeking help cutting the video for social media.
With their permission, we’re sharing that footage now… ”
On a screen behind him, silent footage from the bar played: a man jumping up and down, lip-syncing to whatever was blasting over the bar’s speakers. After a second of the camera panning, the video stopped on a blurry freeze-frame of the bar counter.
A blue circle appeared around me, though I’d hardly recognize myself if not for the streak of red hair atop my head.
Then, a second circle appeared around a blurry figure in a black leather jacket.
Their face was obscured by the blur of motion, but based on the direction of their head, it was clear that they were watching me from across the bar.
My hand shot to cover my mouth. “Spencer…”
Gabe shook his head. “In this video, you can see Kiera being marked by her abductor mere moments before he struck. We now believe that Kiera’s abduction was a coordinated operation rather than the random kidnapping the police have been treating it as.
Perhaps connected to the various missing persons cases that have plagued the surrounding counties in the last few months. ”
The crowd began to murmur, but Gabe raised a hand to quiet them. “Please, just another moment or so of your time.”
Once they settled, he lifted his chin in a show of bravado.
“This footage is not clear enough to help us ID the suspect. But perhaps someone out there — someone watching this broadcast — has something clearer. Perhaps if we all pool our resources together, we can finally break through this case and bring Kiera home.”
He took a deep breath as he prepared the pitch. “When I founded Spyre, I always knew we would do great things. But I’d never considered our potential as a tool of justice.
“What would happen if ten people at the bar that night uploaded footage. Twenty? Would our learning model be able to construct a clearer image of the assailant or his accomplice? Would we be able to solve Greene County’s crime problems once and for all?
“I remain confident that, thanks to the dedicated pioneers at Spyre and the selfless members of the Greene County community, we will bring Kiera home. But as I move through this harrowing experience, I feel unsettled by the thought of how different things might be if I didn’t have those resources.
“It is a fact that, once police investigations fail, crimes are most often solved by community cooperation. But rather than relying on a handful of dedicated citizen detectives, what if we could coordinate those efforts?
“In an effort to democratize the pursuit of justice, I am pleased to announce that we will be massively expanding Spyre’s capacity for evidence collection.
Now, we will allow users to contribute to a database of evidence regarding active cases in the Greene County area.
Powered by our proprietary AI engine, no stone will go unturned.
Spyre.Gen will have the capacity to analyze photo and video evidence instantaneously, drawing connections between data points and providing insights that can help close cold cases.
“With this expansion, no contribution is too small. And no case will go unsolved. So, get uploading. Take out those phones and help us find Kiera.”
As the crowd exploded with cheers and questions, Gabriel smiled.
“Thank you. But before I take all the credit, let me make one thing clear. An expansion of this caliber is only made possible by a generous contribution from Spyre’s parent company, Zeus Industries, and the guidance of my mentor, Isaac Dumont. ”
My blood chilled at the mention of Zeus.
I knew that Gabe worked in tech, that he had his own company.
What I didn’t know was that Spyre had any connection to my father’s company, let alone that it was a subsidiary.
He’d told me that the celebration that night was about his promotion, not an acquisition.
Why would he hide that from me?
But the ice in my veins burned up under the force of my rage. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
My father had built Zeus Industries from the ground up. He dedicated his entire life to their mission. And then when he died, they completely abandoned me and my mother.
I wasn’t sure which was worse: hearing Gabe bastardize the mission that had been my father’s driving force in life, or watching my mom stand beneath Zeus’ banner proudly after everything they’d done to our family. To Dad’s legacy.
But Dom’s shock lay elsewhere entirely. “I can’t believe they’re painting this as a kidnapping…”
A scoff pushed through my clenched teeth. “Technically, it is one.”
That’s not the point. My racing thoughts were anxious to return to Gabe and my mother’s traitorous collaboration. But then a chilling thought crossed my mind. Isn’t that the point, though?