The Memory Keeper: The Sin In Our Name

Khai's POV

My hands trembled as I fumbled with my phone, quickly pulling up Dad's number.

The line barely rang before he answered.

"Khai?" His voice was calm, but I could hear the underlying concern.

I sucked in a shaky breath, my throat tightening.

"Dad... something happened to Rain."

There was a heavy pause on the other end.

"What do you mean?" His tone sharpened, the calm slipping.

"I—I think someone took her." My voice cracked. "She sent me these texts, but they don't feel like her. I went to her apartment, but it was locked. Mrs. Letty hasn't seen her. She's not at the office. No one knows where she is."

Another pause. Then, his voice turned cold and steady.

"Where are you now?"

"At the office," I whispered.

"I'm on my way."

The line went dead.

While we waited for Dad to arrive, I paced the office, my thoughts spiraling. Every second felt heavier than the last.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Therese sitting quietly, her expression distant. Her fingers were absentmindedly turning something over and over.

A silver ring.

She kept twisting it between her fingers, rubbing the smooth surface with her thumb. It wasn't like her to be this quiet. Normally, Therese would be the first to take control, but now she just stared at the ring like it was the only thing grounding her.

Maybe she was just tense—just as restless and worried as I was.

But for some reason, I couldn't stop watching the way she held it.

The office door swung open with a force that made everyone jump. Dad stepped in, his expression dark and serious. Behind him were Harold and his security team, their presence commanding and alert. Patrick, Kroft's hacker friend, followed close behind, his laptop already in hand.

Without wasting a second, Harold's men moved swiftly. They closed the blinds on the marketing team's office, blocking any view from the outside. One of them gestured for the employees to leave, and they quickly filed out, sensing the tension in the room.

Now, it was just us.

Me.
Dad.
Harold and his team.
Therese.
Kroft.
And Patrick, quietly setting up in the corner.

The room felt suffocatingly quiet, the weight of the situation pressing on all of us.

Dad's eyes locked onto mine. "Tell me everything."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady the shaking in my hands as I handed Dad my phone.

"These are the messages Rain sent me," I said, my voice breaking slightly.

Dad's eyes darkened as he read each word, his grip on the phone tightening. The room was dead silent, except for the rapid clicking of Patrick's keyboard as he worked to track Rain's location.

Harold leaned over Patrick's shoulder. "Can you ping her GPS?"

Patrick didn't look up. "I'm trying. Her phone's active, but whoever did this is smart. It's bouncing off different towers to mask the location. Give me a minute."

"A minute might be too long," Dad muttered, pacing.

Therese and Kroft stood off to the side, pale and tense. Therese clutched that silver ring in her hand again, twisting it anxiously.