Raveling You(18)

“If it turns out to be too much for him or shows no signs of working within the first few sessions, then we’d like to try a few more aggressive methods.” A detective who goes by the name Rannali explains. “I know this might seem a little extreme, but—”



“A little extreme,” Lila cuts him off, her tone razor sharp. “You’re showing no sympathy for Ayden, who’s been through enough already and just lost his brother.”



“Sympathy isn’t my priority,” he replies straightforwardly—he has been that way the entire visit, “solving this case is a priority. We truly believe that if Ayden can remember those days he spent in the house, he could help us identify some suspects.”



“But I thought you weren’t positive it was the same people,” Lila points out. “That maybe he was just in the same area by coincidence. You said a lot of homeless people migrated to that area because the vacant homes were good shelter.”



“Right now, tracking down those people is the best lead we’ve got,” he responds vaguely, appearing mildly annoyed by Lila’s excessive questioning. “And right now, your son is the last known person alive who’s seen what these people look like. It’s becoming a priority that he moves forward in his therapy. I know some therapists who come highly recommended for these types of things.”



Lila’s expression simmered with rage. “You don’t need to be so coldhearted about it. You’re speaking about him like he’s not even a person. Just a tool to help solve your case.”



“Help solve his brother’s murder,” he pressed as he coolly reclined back in his seat. “Do you know anything at all about this group of people?” He reaches for a folder on a filing cabinet then straightens in the chair. Opening the folder on the desk, he removes a paper and places it in front of the Gregorys. “They call themselves soulless mileas or warriors. Worshippers of evil, the list of the horrendous crimes these people have committed goes on and on.”



Soulless mileas.



Soulless mileas.



Soulless mileas.



The name screams repeatedly in my head, but the noise is minimal compared to my accelerating heart rate. In the folder is a letter written in sloppy handwriting that looks an awfully lot like my sister’s. When I lean forward to get a better look, the detective hastily shuts the folder. He’s not quite quick enough to stop me from seeing the signature on the bottom, though.



Sadie Stephorson.



My sister.



Detective Rannali avoids eye contact with me, focusing on Lila and Ethan as if I don’t even exist.



“Wait? I don’t understand,” Lila says perplexedly to Detective Rannali. “Why are you mentioning these people?”



“We believe that someone in this group is responsible for the kidnapping of your son three years ago.” He pauses with a brief glance in my direction. “And that they might have played a part in Felix Stephorson’s murder along with several others over the last decade. It would make sense with his body being found close to the home Ayden and his brother and sister were removed from.”



I want to shout at him to tell me why on earth he has a letter from my sister in the folder.



“Why would he have been there, though?” I ask. “Did they kidnap him again?”



“There were no signs of kidnapping,” the detective answers. “But we haven’t ruled out that theory either. We also have a theory that maybe your brother was looking for the people himself.”



My back straightens in the chair as an icy chill slithers up my spine. “Why would he do that? It would make no sense.”



Ignoring me, he drones on until I can’t take it anymore. I need to know what that letter was.



After a while, I lose my cool and snap, “What was that?”



All three of them jolt at the sound of my voice.



“What was what?” The detective feigns being clueless.



I aim a finger at the folder. “That letter in there … It looked like it was from my sister.”



“What’s in that file is confidential,” is all he says.



I turn to Lila and Ethan for help, but they only look at me with pity. Then Lila gently pats my knee and directs her attention back to the paper, leaving me stirring in frustration.



Why would they have a note from her? Is it old? New? Did she have something to do with this? Are they using her to help solve the case, too? Or is there more to it?



Ethan clasps Lila’s hand when her eyes start water. “Honey, relax. Everything’s going to be okay.” He looks at me. “We’ll get through this together.”