The sun was high and unforgiving, the kind of afternoon heat that made the asphalt shimmer and the air taste like warm copper. The amusement park sprawled across several acres of reclaimed industrial land, a riot of color and noise and motion that felt almost surreal after the quiet tension of the past few days. Children screamed with delight as they hurtled down the water slides. Couples drifted past clutching stuffed animals won at ring toss games. The distant clatter of a wooden roller coaster mixed with the tinny music of a carousel that had been playing the same tune since before Saul was born.He sat on one of the long benches near the big pool at the end of the water slide, watching the chaos unfold around him with the detached attention of a man who had too much on his mind to really see any of it. A group of teenagers splashed each other near the shallow end, their laughter echoing off the concrete and a father hoisted his daughter onto his shoulders so she could see ove

"As for how Ephraim went missing," Daniella continued, her voice dropping even lower, "that was different. That was..." She paused, her fingers tightening around each other in her lap. "That happened right in front of me."Saul shifted on the bench, turning slightly to face her more directly. "In front of you? What do you mean?"Daniella didn't answer right away. Her jaw was working, the muscles clenching and unclenching beneath her skin. “He got kidnapped when we were together. We had just gotten back from a business trip," she finally managed to say. "It was supposed to be a quick thing, you see. Two days, maybe three. Meet with some investors, sign some papers, then we could fly back home. There was Nothing unusual. Nothing dangerous. Just business." She shook her head slowly, like she was trying to clear her head, the blonde wig shifting with the movement. "W-we landed in the afternoon. And I remember the airport was really crowded that day. People everywhere. Luggage carts. F