Page 61 of Broken Princess
“Such as?”
“You know how all flights and their manifests have to be registered? Even the small private ones.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ve been looking into every single flight that left the Lilith Hall area last night. There were a lot, for obvious reasons, but one in particular stood out. A plane owned by Jamie Torrance took off somewhere around one in the morning with two passengers listed on the manifest.”
“Names?”
“Jamie Torrance and Evelyn Mitchell.”
My forehead wrinkled. “Evelyn Mitchell?”
“Evelyn is Willow’s middle name, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Mitchell was her mother’s last name before she married Stephen Rhoades. I think Jamie made up that fake name for her when he realized he had to include a passenger name on the manifest, or else the flight wouldn’t have been cleared for takeoff.”
“Holy shit.” A flush of adrenaline shot through my veins. “So Willow might actually be alive.”
Rowan nodded. “I know there’s a chance I’m wrong about everything, but I really don’t think I am. I’m pretty sure she’s out there with Jamie.”
“I think you’re right,” I replied, excitement spiking my pulse all over again. “Fuck, man, what would I do without you?”
He gave me an awkward smile and shrugged. “I’m sure you would’ve found her on your own eventually. You care about her more than anyone.”
“Maybe, but you deserve all the credit for this,” I said, clapping one hand on his shoulder. “Thanks, man.”
“It’s fine. I’m glad to help,” he said, still looking slightly embarrassed. “I just wish I could help more.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean Jamie’s turned into a ghost after that flight landed at his family’s summer place in New Hampshire. He’s not there, which means Willow isn’t either, and I have no idea where to start looking. His phone has become untraceable, too,” he said. His brows suddenly dipped in a frown. “Wait, why are you smiling?”
I hadn’t even realized I was doing it until he mentioned it, but it made sense. Hope was washing over me now, pushing my fear, sorrow and anger into the deepest corners of my mind, and all I wanted to do was smile until my lips went numb.
“Because it doesn’t matter where she is,” I said. “All that matters is that she’s still alive, and we’re gonna go and find her…”
