Ariana felt her mind go numb. Her usually obedient Melon! How could he have just wandered off?

She glanced at Sonia, hoping this was some kind of prank.

“You’re joking, right? This isn’t something to joke about,” she stammered.

“I wish I were,” Sonia replied, her face a portrait of genuine anxiety.

A wave of dread washed over Ariana, seeing Sonia’s obvious distress.

Quick to act, Sarah said, “We need to check the security footage right away. Melon can’t be far.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Betsy chimed in.

“The front desk should be able to access all the building’s cameras. We’ll find him.”

“Then let’s move,” urged Sonia, grabbing Ariana’s arm to lead her toward the lobby. Sarah and Betsy followed, their strides filled with purpose.

Angela’s Library

collectively sped to find Melon,

the reception staff about a young boy wandering alone. But then a crowd of people around a man caught her eye. The man was

a familiar

that nose. She would recognize

involuntarily shouted his name. Ariana lunged after

their hold, straining to see as the man disappeared into a

gaze fixed on the departing car. After a moment to regain her composure, she asked the guards

than a curt “no comment” before walking away. Many were captivated

arrived, her face fraught

asked, taking Ariana’s trembling hands into her

her voice shaky, “I saw him. I saw Theodore. I know it was him.

think rationally,” Sonia advised gently,

it’s understandable that your mind might play tricks

Ariana teetered on the brink

she have imagined it? She was certain she had

was etched into her memory. She

trance, murmuring more to herself than

insisted, “It’s unthinkable for two people to look so identical, unless they were

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