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?"

about that, we need to find Jade. If she's wandered into some dark alley and

Mia's instructions. They reached a place, and

her phone flashlight, ready to delve into

come with you?" Leo

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

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

later, Mia was back, "Nothing there,

people were no match for her, so

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

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

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

and they headed off

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

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

something too. He

had seen beautiful pictures of it in a school brochure and always wanted to visit. Even though it was close to their home, the three of them had never been. This time, Jade might have gone alone.

got out, scanning her surroundings with her phone. She stood by the

Leo also yelled, "Jade!"

the lake, but there was

walked along the lakeshore. She

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

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

got muddy from the soft,

tranquil, their calls echoing in the air.

voice. They quickened their pace towards the sound. Finally, they found Jade sitting on a rock. Seeing them, she said, "I didn't think you'd find