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?"

worry about that, we need to

a place, and Mia warned, "Stay in the car, I'm gonna check

ready to delve

I come with you?"

kid. If things go south, I'll

was right; he'd better not add to the

there, let's move on to

drove and Mia went on exploring. If trouble came, most people were no match for her,

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

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

knew this, but replied, "Still, I can't ignore any potentially

it, and they headed off to the next

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

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

He

a county of Havenbrook, Emerald Valley had since become a popular tourist spot. Jade 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. Following the navigation, Leo's car zipped along highways, and into rural roads, finally arriving

phone. She stood by the lake and

Leo also yelled, "Jade!"

the lake, but there

gut, Mia walked along the lakeshore. She called out as she walked, "Jade, where

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

only their calls broke the silence.

they lit up the path ahead. Their shoes got muddy from the soft, wet soil by the lake.

lake was vast and tranquil, their calls echoing in the air. After

It was Jade's voice. They quickened their pace towards the sound. Finally, they