Page 68 of Trapped

“They went missing this morning,” Alma says, moving back toward us. “Adan found footage of them leaving in the car, but it was found stranded on the side of the highway.” I pull out my phone and text Cassiel.

Silas: Your little friend is missing.

Cassiel: I have a lot of friends. You’ll have to be more specific.

Silas: Whatever you’re up to, Cassiel, if my daughter is involved with any of your sick plans, I will kill you.

Cassiel: Lucia is fine.

This motherfucker. I pace the room and grit my teeth. Thalia pulls herself from the ground and looks up at me.

“What is it?” she asks. I don’t have the heart to tell her my suspicions. I don’t get the chance to even mention it before Osiel rushes through the door.

“What?” Thalia rushes toward him. I hate how much she trusts the goofy fuck.

“We found them,” Osiel says.

“What? Where is she? Is she okay?” Thalia says.

“Thalia. It’s—it’s something else.” Osiel scratches the back of his neck, and Thalia’s face pales at the worry in his voice. I pull her back to me.

“What happened?” I ask.

“That’s the fucking crazy part. There’s not a hair out of place. Not a bruise. Nothing. Mireya’s going to do a thorough examination. But—” He shakes his head. “Lucia is convinced this was the best weekend of her life.”What the fuck.

“What? What do you mean?” Thalia’s voice is shaky, and I feel sick to my stomach.

“I’m not sure what to believe, but she is saying some crazy shit. You might want to call your therapist.” Osiel blinks a few times and shakes his head.

Thalia and I stand frozen in place. What the hell would convince a six-year-old that a kidnapping was the best weekend of her life? Osiel leads us to room 376, where we find Olivia waiting outside. She runs to comfort Thalia.

“She’s okay. Ariella found her,” she says as Thalia crashes into her. I rush into the hotel room to find Lucia is sitting on the couch watching TV and hugging a stuffed dog.

“Lucia.” My voice cracks, and I rush toward her.

I keep Lucia in my embrace. She is unaware of the situation. If Osiel is right, then she is delusional about even being kidnapped. I hug her tight before pulling her away to scan her. Not a single bruise. Not a single scratch.

“Are you okay?” I ask. She nods, and her little brows bunch together.

“Why is everyone crying?” Her brows bunch together.

“We didn’t know where you were. What happened?” Thalia asks. Her voice is calm, but the same puzzled look is plastered to her face. Lucia pauses her YouTube show and lets out a dramatic sigh.

“I was with Ariella at the park and a lady came up and asked me to help her find her dog. I got in a big car with her, and she made me put a sack over my head. Then I met Rosie and Maikel, and they said the lady was really bad. I was crying, and Rosie gave me a hug. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, Tio Cass was there to rescue me.” Thalia’s eyes widen at the name and anger boils in me. I will kill that motherfucker with my bare hands for this.

Thalia

The more Lucia tells us about her weekend getaway, the more I want to scream. Stranger Danger is obviously out the window at this point. Maybe she needs to watch more horror movies with me. She should be more concerned about her own safety than this.

“He said I could have ice cream for dinner, and we watched Encanto six times!” She doesn’t stop talking about her tio Cass. On and on she goes about every little detail. His jokes, his cool motorcycle, and all the shit he bought her. She had been here, hiding in plain sight. Toys are scattered across the hotel room.

Ariella shifts uncomfortably in the kitchen. I let Lucia continue her story to Silas and make my way to Ariella.

“What happened?” I whisper, and she stares out into the blank space.

“I had a hood over my head. I-I didn’t know where they were taking me, then I came in, and she was just sitting there,” Ariella says, staring at Lucia.

“She was just here. Like this. Like nothing happened.” She sighs, and I nod. The more we listen to Lucia’s encounter, the more we realize that Cassiel really didn’t hurt her. He didn’t scare her or even tell her anything about Claudia’s motives.

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