Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

Mia didn't mince words. Right now, she had got as much worry on her plate as the Cedillo and Byrne families.

Jade was kin. She said there was no need to worry, comforting others as well as herself. But in truth, she was as on edge as anyone.

Mia walked into Leo's room, rousing her nephew who was idling away on his phone, "Jade's missing. Come help me find her."

"What's up with her?" Leo had still engrossed in his phone, utterly clueless about the gravity of the situation.

Mia landed a smack on the back of his head, "Jade, your aunt, real name Molly, has gone missing."

"What?" Leo was still ogling his phone, totally deaf to Mia's words.

Three minutes later, Leo had thrown on a jacket over his PJs, and together they hit the road to find Jade. On the road, Mia updated Leo on recent events.

"This is too crazy." Leo said, "I must be dreaming."

He pinched his leg to test the theory. Ouch! Nope, not a dream.

Mia had glued to her phone, zooming in and out of the city map, scrutinizing every alleyway, guessing where Jade might be based on her character. The police were tracking Jade's ID use too. But if Jade was trying to dodge her cop brother, she would find a way to stay hidden.

"Mia, are you saying Jade is my long-lost aunt I haven't seen for 15 years?" Leo was stunned.

"Yep." Mia answered.

Leo's face screwed up in embarrassment. He banged the steering wheel and said, "There's no way." He only had two good friends, but somehow he had become both their nephew! How could this be?

Mia said, "It's true. The hair we used for the DNA test with Jade was yours."

Leo yelled, "When did you swipe my hair?"

But now's not the time to worry about that, we need to find Jade. If she's wandered into some dark alley and run into trouble, we're toast." Mia

instructions. They reached a place, and Mia warned, "Stay

ready to delve into the dark

come with

shot back, "Stay put, kid. If things

loss for words. She was right; he'd better not add

minutes later, Mia was back, "Nothing there, let's move on to the

people were no

over an hour. Only now did Mia realize how hard it was to find someone who was

got a strong survival instinct. She won't put herself in danger." Leo said

this, but replied, "Still, I can't ignore any potentially risky places. What if Jade's there and we

headed off to the

Mia, "Mia, we got surveillance footage of Jade heading towards Emerald Valley."

to mind for Mia, one Jade often talked about. She told Leo, "Leo,

something too. He

Even though it was close to their home, the three of them had never been. This time, Jade might have gone alone. Following the navigation, Leo's car zipped along highways, and into rural

her phone. She

Leo also yelled, "Jade!"

fish in the lake,

lakeshore. She called out as she walked, "Jade, where are

the ground, his phone lighting

was quiet, only their calls broke the silence. "Jade! Jade!" They

soft, wet soil by the lake. Mia stopped by

lake was vast and tranquil, their calls echoing in the air. After a while, they heard a voice,

Leo exchanged a glance. It was Jade's voice. They quickened their pace towards the sound. Finally, they found Jade