“Where did you get this?”
I look down and notice my engagement ring, Daniel’s family heirloom, glistening on my finger. Panic rises in my chest as she lifts my hand higher, inspecting it more closely.
“Where did you get this ring?” she asks again, her eyes now fastened on mine. “This is Sophie’s ring.”
“Wh—what?” I stutter, trying to pull my hand back. But she’s holding it too tightly; she won’t let go. “I’m sorry, what do you mean, Sophie’s ring?”
“This is my daughter’s ring,” she says again, louder, her eyes drilling into the ring once more, the oval cut diamond and halo of stones. The cloudy 14-karat band that sits slightly too large on my thin, bony finger. “This ring has been in my family for generations. It was my engagement ring, and when Sophie turned thirteen, I gave it to her. She always wore this ring. Always. She was wearing it the day she…”
She looks at me now, her eyes wide, terrified.
“The day she disappeared.”
I stand up, ripping my hand from her grip.
“I’m sorry, we have to go,” I say, walking past Aaron and throwing open the screen door. “Aaron, come on.”
“Who are you?” the woman yells after us, shock bolting her to the couch. “Who are you?”
I run out the door and down the front steps. I feel dizzy, drunk. How could I have forgotten to take off the ring? How could I have forgotten that? I reach the car and pull on the handle, but the door doesn’t budge. It’s locked.
“Aaron?” I yell. My voice sounds strangled, like there are hands around my neck, squeezing it closed. “Aaron, can you unlock the door?”
“WHO ARE YOU?” the woman yells behind me. I can hear her getting up, running through the house. The screen door opens and slaps shut, and before I can turn around, I hear the car unlock. I grab the handle again, ripping the door open and flinging myself inside. Aaron is right behind me, running into the driver’s seat and cranking the engine.
“WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?”
The car lurches forward, flips around, and peels back down the road. I look in the rearview mirror, at the cloud of dust we’ve kicked up, at Daniel’s mother running after us, growing more distant with each passing second.
“WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER? PLEASE!”
She’s flailing her hands, running wildly, until suddenly she collapses to her knees, drops her head into her hands, and cries.
The car is silent as we drive through town, making our way back to the highway. My hands are shaking in my lap, the image of that poor woman chasing us down the street making my stomach squeeze. The ring on my finger suddenly feels suffocating, and I grab it with my other hand, pulling it off frantically and flinging it to the ground. I stare at it on the floor, imagining Daniel gently removing it from the cold, dead hand of his sister.
“Chloe,” Aaron whispers, his eyes still trained on the road. “What was that?”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m sorry, Aaron. I’m so sorry.”
“Chloe,” he says again, louder this time. Angier. “What the fuck was that?”
“I’m sorry,” I repeat again, my voice shaking. “I didn’t know.”
“Who is that?” he asks again, his hands gripping the steering wheel. “How did you find that woman?”
I’m silent next to him, unable to answer the question. His face turns toward mine, his mouth gaping open.
“Isn’t your fiancé named Daniel?”
I don’t respond.
“Chloe, answer me. Isn’t your fiancé named Daniel?”
I nod, tears streaming down my cheek.
“Yes,” I say. “Yes, but Aaron, I didn’t know.”
“What the fuck,” he says, shaking his head. “Chloe, what the fuck. I told that woman my name. She knows where I work. Jesus Christ, I’m going to lose my job over this.”
“I’m sorry,” I say again. “Aaron, please. You were the one that helped me to see it—talking about my father’s jewelry, who would have known. Daniel. Daniel knew. Daniel knew everything.”
“And was this just a hunch, or…？”
“I found a necklace in our closet. A necklace that looks a lot like the one Aubrey would have been wearing the day she disappeared.”
“Jesus Christ,” he says again.
“Then I just started noticing things. Noticing how he smelled different when he came home from his trips. Smelled like perfume. Like other women. He claimed he was out of town when Aubrey and Lacey were taken, but he wasn’t where he told me he would be. I had no idea where he would go for days on end. I had no idea what he would do—until I looked through his briefcase and found his receipts.”