Chapter 5

After dinner, they put Evan to bed.

Evan lay in his small bed, holding his new remote-control car. "When will Lily come back?"

"Very soon." Mom tucked in his blanket. "Close your eyes and sleep. You'll see your sister tomorrow morning."

"Then I'll let Lily play with my new toy too." Evan said softly.

"Okay, you can share with Lily."

The light went off. Mom gently closed the door.

In the living room, the clock pointed to 10:30.

Dad sat on the sofa, staring at his phone.

The screen was lit, but he wasn't really looking at anything. He just kept opening SnapChat, closing it, opening it, closing it.

Mom paced back and forth in the living room, walking to the window for the third time to look down.

"Nathan," she finally couldn't hold it in, "let's go out and look for her."

"Look for what?" Dad didn't look up, though his voice lacked conviction. "Let her come back on her own."

"But it's so cold outside... and she's so small..." Mom's voice took on a tearful quality.

Dad said nothing, but his fingers gripping the phone tightened.

The clock on the wall went "tick-tock, tick-tock."

Eleven o'clock.

Dad suddenly stood up and grabbed his coat. "Let's go."

They rushed out the door.

I followed behind, watching them search the neighborhood, search the children's playground, search every path while calling my name.

"Lily—! Lily—!"

Mom's voice scattered in the night wind, carrying increasingly obvious panic.

Her voice was already getting hoarse, but she kept shouting, call after call.

Dad initially kept a stern face, but soon he too grew anxious.

He ran to the security office to check the surveillance footage and saw the small figure on the screen dragging a blue suitcase, walking out of the neighborhood gate at 9:08.

"She actually took a suitcase?!" Dad's face went white.

Mom covered her mouth. Tears finally fell.

They drove out to search, following the western route, street by street.

Mom kept her face pressed against the car window, looking outside, murmuring, "Lily... Lily, where are you..."

Dad said nothing, but the car went faster and faster.

They searched for a long time—long enough for the shops along the road to turn off their lights one by one, long enough for all the pedestrians on the street to disappear.

The air in the car grew heavier and more oppressive.

After driving through another empty street, Dad pulled the car over to the side of the road. He gripped the steering wheel and stayed silent for a long time.

"Let's call the police." Mom forced out these three words.

Dad nodded and picked up his phone.

Before he could dial, the screen lit up first.

The ringtone exploded in the quiet car, piercingly anxiety-inducing.

He glanced at it—an unknown number. He answered impatiently. "Hello?"

I leaned over and heard a calm male voice on the other end:

"Is this the parent of Lily Harper? This is Central City Hospital—"