Chapter 2 - THE BOY WHO NEVER CAME HOME
Eleanor didn't scream when she saw Finn's photograph.
That frightened me more than if she had.
She stood, turned toward the officer, and said, “We need to establish where that child is. Right now.”
The station changed instantly.
Detectives contacted Finn's school and the estate.
My father was notified.
And for the first time in my life, his money couldn't make a problem disappear fast enough.
Julian Cavanaugh arrived fifteen minutes later.
He wore a charcoal suit and an expression that could silence a boardroom.
But when he saw the photograph, his face changed.
“Where is my son?”
Detective Rachel Morgan stepped forward.
“We're working to locate him.”
Julian turned toward me.
“What have you done?”
The accusation hit like a slap.
Eleanor stepped between us.
“Julian.”
He looked at her.
“This is not the time.”
“You're right,” she answered. “It isn't the time to blame Mason before knowing the facts.”
The entire room went silent.
Nobody challenged my father.
Nobody except Eleanor.
Julian stared at her.
Then looked at my bleeding lip.
Something shifted in his expression.
“Mason—”
I turned away.
I couldn't stand hearing my name in that voice.
The same voice he'd used when I got suspended.
When I crashed the golf cart.
When I failed math.
Always disappointment.
Never a question about why.
Then Adrian burst through the station doors.
At twenty-three, my oldest brother looked like a younger version of our father.
Expensive clothes.
Cold eyes.
A reputation that made people move aside.
“Where's Finn?”
Nobody answered quickly enough.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
Theo arrived seconds later, still wearing his mechanic's jacket.
He'd been expelled from two colleges and spent most nights rebuilding motorcycles instead of sleeping.
For once, he wasn't smiling.
Four sons.
One missing.
And a father who suddenly looked powerless.
Then Detective Morgan's phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
And exhaled.
“Finn has been located.”
My knees weakened.
“Where?”
“At a gas station outside Fairhaven. He's safe with officers.”
Eleanor gripped my hand.
I started crying before I could stop myself.
A few minutes later, we learned what happened.
Finn had been approached outside school by a man claiming Julian had sent him.
The man showed a family photograph and knew Finn's nickname.
Finn got into the vehicle.
But when the driver took an unfamiliar road, Finn became frightened.
He asked to stop.
At a gas station, he slipped inside and asked the cashier for help.
The cashier called police.
My little brother had saved himself.
But the driver escaped.
And the photograph Tyler showed me had been taken before Finn reached the gas station.
Julian turned toward Adrian.
“Who knew Finn's schedule?”
Adrian's face hardened.
“Half the household.”
Eleanor slowly shook her head.
“No.”
Everyone looked at her.
She swallowed.
“Someone changed Finn's pickup authorization this morning.”
Julian stared.
“What?”
“I was told he'd be collected by a family driver.”
“By whom?”
Eleanor hesitated.
Then answered.
“Victor Sloane.”
My father's chief financial officer.
His oldest friend.
And the man who had personally arranged our mother's funeral.
May you like
Then Eleanor revealed something even worse.
“Victor also ordered the locks changed on your wife's private study yesterday.”
