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?"

to find Jade. If she's wandered into some dark alley and run into trouble, we're toast." Mia

on the gas, following Mia's instructions. They reached a place, and Mia warned, "Stay

phone flashlight, ready to delve into the dark

I come with

shot back, "Stay put, kid. If things go south, I'll have

a loss for words. She was right; he'd

was back, "Nothing there, let's move on

came, most people were

they did, combing the whole city for over an hour. Only now did Mia realize how hard it was to find someone who was gone to

won't put herself in danger." Leo said to

I can't ignore any potentially risky

got it, and they headed off to

called. He told Mia, "Mia, we got surveillance footage of Jade heading towards Emerald Valley." Emerald Valley?

talked about. She told Leo, "Leo, head straight for Emerald

something too. He floored it, changing direction towards the

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 roads, finally arriving at

surroundings with her phone. She stood

Leo also yelled, "Jade!"

fish in the lake, but there was

Mia walked along the lakeshore. She called out as she

eyes were fixed on the ground, his phone lighting up the surrounding bushes, looking for any sign of

their calls broke the silence. "Jade! Jade!" They

the path ahead. Their shoes got muddy from the soft,

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

sound. Finally,