Page 6 of Dark Embers

My mother sighs, rubbing her arms as if warding off a chill. “I know. But the resemblance is uncanny.”

My gaze flicks back to the phone. My mind races, trying to make sense of it.Why would Tara be on the UCLA campus?

A sick feeling slithers through my stomach.

I glance at my mother’s phone again, spotting the PI’s number.

“Mom. I thought we were going to stop using this guy?” I say quietly. “How much is this still costing us?”

Carla hesitates. “Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does,” I try to reason with her. “Mom, doesn't it seem strange to you that every time we tell him to call off the hunt for Tara there’s a sudden sighting of her and we get sent this grainy shit kind of picture of some woman who slightly resembles Tara?”

“I see your point.” Her lips press into a thin line. “But this time it really does look like Tara and we both know she wanted to lecture at UCLA once she had her PHD.”

“And what?” I ask, unable to keep the exasperation from my voice. “You don’t think she’d know that would be one of the first places anyone who has done their homework on her would look?”

“Of course.” She draws in a deep breath. “But I can’t give up hope that my daughter is out there somewhere and that someone must have seen her.”

“I know Mom!” I start to feel terrible from my outburst. “But maybe we should find another PI as this man is a rip off artist and my savings are almost depleted from paying him.”

“Do you need money, Rina?” my mother asks.

The question is so out of character for her that it stuns me. There’s no disdain in her voice, no underlying oh, here we go again tone. Just concern.

“No.” I shake my head. “I’m fine. But I can’t keep paying for a detective who keeps coming up empty-handed.”

“We can talk about this when you fetch Elena,” she promises, stepping past me and lifting Elena into her arms. A warm smile spreads across her face as she presses a kiss to Elena’s chubby cheek. “There’s my little princess.” She turns toward me, her eyes are actually filled with love and is that pride? For me? I’m feeling a little disoriented when my mother says, “I admit, I wasn’t thrilled about you having a baby out of wedlock and not knowing the father.”

I roll my eyes, sighing. Here we go.

“But…” My mother’s face softens even more as she cradles Elena against her. “I can’t deny how much she’s filled the void since Tara left.”

Guilt slams into me, thick and suffocating.If only you knew the truth, Mom.I push it back into my mind.

“Gee, thanks, Mom.” I snort, glancing at my watch. “Fuck.” I kiss Elena. “Bye my baby. I have to go as I’m going to be late.”

“Language!” Carla scolds, covering Elena’s ears.

“She’s heard worse,” I mutter, grabbing my car keys.

“Be careful driving,” Carla calls as I rush toward the door. “And there’s no rush to fetch my little princess. Enjoy your weekend. Get some sleep.”

“Thanks Mom and Mark.” I wave moving toward the door. As I step outside, the cool night air hits my flushed cheeks before I slide into the driver’s seat of my Subaru.

A gift from my best friend, Leigh. Thinking about her gives me another wave of guilt churning through me.

Lies. Lies. Lies.They’re all piling up, suffocating me, and the worst part? There’s no end in sight.

I slam my fist against the steering wheel. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”

As I pull onto the road, my mind drifts back to fifteen months ago and a decision I made that would change our lives forever.

CHAPTER 4

Sabrina

Fifteen Months Ago

---