Love & All Things Broken

****This chapter contains discussions of child abduction/kidnapping and references to substance abuse. Readers who may be sensitive to themes involving missing children or addiction may wish to proceed with caution.

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The lights in the police station hummed overhead as I sat in the hard chair, watching Caden pace the small waiting area. Detective Morrison had disappeared twenty minutes ago to coordinate the Amber Alert, leaving us to stew in our own fears.

My phone buzzed. Maliyah's name flashed on the screen, and I felt a pang of guilt. I'd forgotten to call her back earlier this week like I'd promised.

"Hey, it's Maliyah. I should take this," I said to Caden, who nodded distractedly, still staring at his phone as if he could will Macy to text him back.

I stepped into the hallway and swiped to answer.

"Hey, MayMay."

"Finally! I was starting to think you'd forgotten you had a sister." Her voice carried that familiar teasing tone, but I could hear the underlying concern.

"I'm sorry, I've been—" I paused, my voice cracked unexpectedly—unsure of how to even explain this last week. "It's been a complicated week."

The teasing disappeared from her voice immediately. "Hey—Felicity, what's wrong? You sound terrible."

Where do I even start? "So...I'm at the police station."

"What? Are you okay? Is Caden okay?"

"We're fine, but..." I took a shaky breath. "Macy's missing. Her mother took her and disappeared."

"Wait. What? Like took her how?"

"There are a few things happening and—Jesus, Maliyah, I don't even know how to start."

"Okay. Let's just take a minute. How long has she been gone?"

"We don't know exactly. Maybe since this morning? We discovered that Jessica has been stealing from Caden's company for years. We're not talking a few dollars here, May. I mean like half a million plus."

"Holy shit."

"Exactly. And when we tried to see Macy today, Jessica wouldn't let us talk to her. Then she sent this text from Macy's phone saying they were going away. We don't know if she knows we found out what she's been doing, but why else would she take off?"

There was a moment of silence. When Maliyah spoke again, her voice had shifted into what I called her "professional mode." Maliyah runs a women's shelter down in Orlando and she is an awesome problem solver.

"Tell me about Jessica. What's her behavior been like recently?"

I leaned against the wall, grateful for my sister's steady presence even through the phone. "Increasingly hostile toward me. She's always been...difficult—well, you know—kind of an asshole. But lately it's been different. More intense. She picked up Macy's phone when I called—and hung up on me. Twice. I'd asked to speak to Macy. Caden tried calling her right after. She told him Macy didn't want to see me, which makes no sense. Like a day before—she'd been planning a surprise for me. No way she just flipped a switch when I hadn't even seen her since."

"Control and isolation," Maliyah said immediately. "She's trying to control the narrative and isolate Macy. It's textbook manipulation."

"But why now? Why take this risk?"

"Sounds like maybe she knows she's cornered. Felicity, if she's been stealing for years—and now she realizes something's off, she doesn't even need to know you know everything. In her circumstance, it could just be paranoia. And that paranoia may lead her to make desperate choices. Taking Macy makes her feel in control."

"May, do you really think it could be that bad?"

"I don't know. But in my world, I've grown accustomed to expecting and planning for the worst but hoping for at least better—not best."

"I'm scared. What if she hurts Macy? I feel like neither Caden or I really know her. Neither of us would have ever guessed she was stealing. She has a job—mortgage broker, you know. And her husband makes good money too. I can't understand where it all went."

"Hey," Maliyah's voice softened. "Listen to me. I've worked with hundreds of families in situations like this. The money and all that—you'll figure it out. Once you get Macy back, she will be okay. Children are more resilient and perceptive than we give them credit for. We don't know what Jessica has told her. For all we know, Macy thinks they are going on a vacation. No matter what though, Jessica can't erase the relationship Macy has with you guys overnight."

"But what if—"

"Felicity." Her voice was firm now. "You have to focus and make sure you don't spiral. I can hear it starting. You can't go down the rabbit hole of worst-case scenarios—it will make you crazy and won't help anyone right now."

She was right. I was already starting to catastrophize, my mind racing through every terrible possibility.

"What should I do?" I asked quietly. "How do I help Caden through this? How do I help Macy when we find her?"

"First, you focus on what is within your control. Support Caden, cooperate with the police, and trust that they'll find her. Second, when Macy comes home, you create the safest, most stable environment possible for her to process whatever she's been through."

"Jesus." I dropped my head against the wall, feeling so overwhelmed by everything. "You know, Caden and I were going through something before all this happened. We'd reached a certain peace, but there is still a lot for us to work through. Add that onto the trauma Macy may be experiencing. It's a lot May. It's a lot."

"It sounds like it. But you know, you don't know what you don't know. Macy may not even be experiencing trauma. Her mom may be acting completely normal with her. She may be completely fine when she gets back. Or maybe she's going to be confused and hurt and angry. Every child responds differently. But Felicity, you and Caden—just remember what it feels like to choose each other, to choose your family. That's exactly what Macy's going to need."

I touched the locket at my throat, feeling its weight. The photo inside—the three of us at Christmas, all genuinely happy—felt like a talisman now.

"Yeah. You're right. And I know I shouldn't borrow trouble."

"One day at a time Felicity."

"I know. So—you said you and Caden were going through something? You don't have to tell me anything, and I know it's shit timing, but know if you need a shoulder, I'm here. And as your sister, I'd like to say—I'll cut any bitch who fucks with you. "I mean, unless someone's listening, then of course any violence threatened is just 온라인카지노게임 telling on my part and not an actual threat...right now." I laughed. She laughed. I needed that moment—where all this turmoil wasn't swirling around me.

"Maliyah, I love you so much."

"Of course you do. I'm awesome," I could hear the smile in her voice.

"You are. Okay—so, the reason we were having some issues..." And I gave her an abbreviated version of what has happened over the last couple weeks from the purse and fight with Caden, the feeling of invisibility for the last few years. My fingers were fiddling with the locket as I told her about the apology gift from him and Macy and how they not only donated the purse but their time too. "They chose an organization that helps women rebuild their lives after abuse. Women like..." my voice trailed off.

"Women like me," Maliyah finished quietly. "Damn. I want to hate him so much for the shit he pulled, but I love what he did to turn things around. I really love that they didn't just throw money at a problem. That's precious."

"I know. It was more than I would have thought they'd do."

"Babes, they did it because they knew you—saw you. I get things broke with Caden along the way, but his actions now say something about his heart. People do dumb shit, but it's what they do on the other side, and how they learn from it, that makes the difference."

"I hadn't thought of it that way."

"I think the big question is whether the change will be sustained, or whether you'll be back in the same spot next year."

"He wants to do therapy. Even found a few therapists—but then all this with Macy happened."

"Damn."

"I know. I think he will still—" my voice trailed off as I saw the door opened down the hall. Detective Morrison emerged with his phone pressed to his ear. He caught my eye and held up one finger—almost done.

"MayMay, I gotta go. The detective is coming back."

"Okay. But Felicity? Call or text me tonight, no matter how late. Just to let me know how things are going, okay?

"I love you, May."

"I love you too. And I'm praying for all of you."

I hung up and walked back to where Caden was sitting. He looked up expectantly.

"Just Maliyah." I explained, settling beside him. "She had some thoughts about Jessica's behavior."

"Like what?"

Before I could answer, Detective Morrison approached us, his expression carefully neutral.

"Mr. and Mrs. Barrett? The Amber Alert is active. We've got Macy's photo and Jessica's information circulating to law enforcement in all neighboring states.

"We've been able to trace more of Jessica's activity. The good news is that she's left a clear digital trail. The concerning news is that she's been taking out more money over the last month or so. We aren't sure of her reasons yes, but it could suggest this may not have been a spontaneous decision."

"So you think she's been planning this?" Caden said, his voice hollow.

"It's too hard to make a judgment right now with what we have, but preliminarily I think it's a good guess. We've also discovered she requested cash advances on a few credit cards. Then she took out almost twenty thousand dollars in cash a couple days ago from one of the accounts we traced back to her. "

"What the fuck. Are you serious?"

"That's what we know so far," he said, "Any reason why your ex would be acting this erratically?"

"Honestly, I really don't know. She's my ex. What about Brad? Doesn't he have anything to say about all this? How did we end up here!?" At that, Caden's head fell into his hands. I reached over and started to rub his back. Everything felt so out of control. Did we miss signs over the years? How could Brad not have seen this in his own wife?

I looked up at Morrison. "People notice an eleven-year-old, right?" I asked. "Hotels, restaurants, gas stations?"

"Normally, I'd say yes. The issue is that Jessica is her mom. And we don't know what Macy knows—so she may be acting completely normal. Jessica's car is on the alert and we have banners going across the highways with the description of her car on the Amber alert."

Detective Morrison's phone rang. He glanced at it and held up a finger. "This might be something." He accepted the call, "Morrison... Yes... Where?... How long ago?" His expression shifted, becoming more alert. "Keep me posted. I'll have someone call the local station."

He hung up and looked at us with cautious optimism. "Jessica's credit card was just used at a gas station about two and a half hours west of here. State police are en route, but..."

"But?" Caden leaned forward.

"It's getting close to the border where Connecticut, New York, and Mass meet. She's still technically in Mass, but if she crosses into New York or Connecticut, this becomes a multi-jurisdictional case, which complicates things."

"What does that mean for finding Macy?"

"It means more agencies get involved, which can help with resources but slow down decision-making. The important thing is that we have a confirmed sighting and direction of travel."

My phone buzzed with a text. My heart jumped, hoping irrationally that it might be from Macy, but it was from Maliyah.

Maliyah: Thinking of you. Remember what I said about focusing on what you can control. Love you.

I showed the message to Caden, who squeezed my hand.

"Your sister is amazing," he said quietly.

"She is. She said children are more resilient than we think."

Detective Morrison was doing something on his phone. "Sorry to interrupt. So, we found Jessica's computer at the house—given everything that's happening, her husband Brad actually gave us access to search their house—said he didn't want anything to do with whatever Jessica was doing and threw in some interesting expletives too. Loyalty doesn't seem to be his strength, which is definitely to our benefit."

I looked over at Caden. I didn't know Brad well, but I was a little surprised, and grateful, he'd give in so easily.

"I just got confirmation that, when they did a cursory review of her computer and data, our forensics team found some concerning searches. It's just preliminary for now, but it was enough to be eye-catching."

"What kind of searches?" Caden asked, though his tone suggested he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Searches about out-of-state school enrollment without custody papers. Leaving the state without co-parent consent." He paused. "She's been researching this for weeks at least."

The room felt like it was spinning. This wasn't a panicked flight. This was a calculated kidnapping.

"So, Forensics searched their home computer. We can only assume the searches we found were made by Jessica—for the time being, until we can speak with her." Detective Morrison paused, his expression growing more serious—looking down at his phone again to read something. When he looked up, it was with almost regret in his eyes, "Caden, are you aware of Jessica having issues with prescription drugs?"

"Prescription drugs?" We both looked at Morrison in confusion. "Wait, what? What do you mean?"

"I mean drugs like oxy or Norco. Anything like that?

"What?! No way!" Caden stood up from his chair, facing the Detective. "You're serious?"

"I am. Your ex has her devices all connected, including her husband's—he gave us permission to search the internet hi온라인카지노게임 too. We can see what she has searched on her phone, which is mirrored on their home computer. We found evidence of what may indicate a possible substance abuse problem and what the team thinks could be a shopping addiction. There are multiple searches for online pharmacies, ways to obtain prescription opioids without a prescription, and she has significant purchasing activity around luxury goods."

"Opioids?" Caden's voice was hollow.

"While she tried to erase her browser hi온라인카지노게임, we all know that's really just skimming the surface. I think they have searches that go back over a few years. It's something forensics will dig into—no real details right now, but we have a general idea of what we are looking at. Given the current exigent circumstances, we will limit our current search to focus on what we need to help us get Macy back. We are working on a warrant to do a deeper dive into the possible theft from your company."

I felt sick. "I'm just so—I can't even explain it. I mean, I guess the drugs could explain the paranoia, and her recent behavior."

"They definitely could. For now, let's focus on what we do know. We know she left with Macy. She is traveling by car and is headed west. We have local units heading out to intercept. And we are working to locate her phone."

Continuing, he said, "In the meantime, I think you need to talk to your attorney again. See if he can get an ex parte emergency custody hearing given the circumstances."

His phone rang again. While Morrison answered, Caden began scrolling. "I'm going to text David. Send him some of the new info and see if he can file for an emergency hearing."

Morrison was a few feet away. I couldn't make out the details, but I could sense the urgency in his body language. As he approached, I heard him say, "How long ago?... We're on our way."

He hung up and looked at us with barely contained excitement. "We have a confirmed sighting. A clerk at a rest stop saw the Amber Alert and positively identified both Jessica and Macy from the photos. Said they bought snacks and used the restroom less than an hour ago."

"That recent?" Caden jumped up. "Then they can't be far."

"State police are setting up checkpoints on the major highways heading south and west from that location. We also have units heading directly to the truck stop to review security footage and interview the clerk."

"What did the clerk say about Macy?" I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Said the little girl seemed tired and quiet, but not scared or distressed. She was holding her mother's hand and there didn't appear to be any concerns of immediate physical harm."

Relief flooded through me. None of this was ideal, but 'tired and quiet' wasn't the nightmare scenario my mind was conjuring.

"What happens next?" Caden asked.

"We wait for the checkpoints to report back, and we hope Jessica makes another mistake. Using her credit card was sloppy—especially if she has cash on her and she's really been planning this. She really should have known better. I would think she's either not as smart as she thinks, or the pressure is too much for her. Too many unanswered questions here."

He rubbed the back of his neck and continued, "The important thing is that we're closing the gap. She's got a very narrow head start from her last stop, and we know her general direction of travel."

My phone buzzed. Maliyah.

Maliyah: Love you chickadee
Me: We might have found them!
Maliyah: Thank God. Is Macy okay?
Me: We think so. They were seen at a truck stop. They said that Macy seemed tired but not hurt.
Maliyah: That's good news. Take a deep breath.

I looked around the room—at Caden's anxious face and at Detective Morrison coordinating with what seemed like half the state police force.

Me: I'm breathing.
Maliyah: I'm praying she makes a mistake and it helps get Macy home
Me: Me too
Maliyah: and remember one crisis at a time...you and Caden will figure all the other stuff out.
Me: you're right...one crisis at a time