I realize as I slowly make my way through the rain that the puppet master wins in the end. I know I’m walking towards my death, but I don’t have any other choice and, at this point, maybe I deserve it.

I’d much rather die, surrounded by the house Cole started building us when he still loved me than live in a world where his eyes are full of hate as he accuses me of killing our son.

“SO, THE LAST time you had contact with the suspected victim was around 8:45 pm, is that correct?”

“OLIVIA! Her name is fucking OLIVIA and she’s not a suspected victim, for Christ’s sake. Get your head out of your ass and find her!”

Garrett grabs my upper arms and pulls me away from the police officer, who continues to glare at me as he jots down information.

“Take a breath, man. They’re doing everything they can,” Garrett tells me as he pulls me out of the living room and into the kitchen. My house is swarming with people dusting for prints, taking pictures and asking the same damn questions over and over. “We’re lucky these people even showed up. They don’t bat an eye if a person hasn’t been missing for at least twenty-four hours, so be thankful the police chief owes me a few favors. I know you’re freaking the fuck out, but it’s not helping things.”

I walk over to the kitchen table and rest my hands on top of it, letting my head drop between my shoulders. My knee is fucking killing me after being off of my crutches all day and the numbness from all the alcohol I consumed earlier has worn off.

“Did Parker find anything at my parent’s house?” I ask quietly, trying to calm the panic raging inside of me.

“No. She just sent me a text. The officer she took over there searched the house and no one is home. All the cars are gone and no one is answering their cell phones, either. Tell me this, why the hell do people have cell phones if they never fucking answer them?”

Garrett tries to make a joke, but I don’t have it in me to laugh. I just want to find her. At this point, I’m not even concerned with all of the apologies I need to give her. I just want to know that she’s safe.

I hear a commotion in the living room followed by one of the officers informing someone that they are disturbing a crime scene and asking them to leave. Garrett and I share a confused look before we move quickly out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

I stop short when I see who’s standing in the doorway, the very same officer I just chewed out blocking his entry.

“Dad, what are you doing here?”

My father looks over the officer’s shoulder at me, irritation written all over his face.

“Will you kindly tell this young man that I’m not a stranger, that I own this house and have every right to be here?”

Garrett puts a hand on my shoulder and squeezes, a gentle warning for me to keep it together when all I want to do is rage at everyone around me, including my father, who is supposed to be locked away in a mental hospital. I have no idea if it’s safe to let him in the house, but I’m guessing he won’t be able to do too much damage surrounded by a bunch of heavily armed police officers and two former Navy SEALs.

I motion to the cop, who silently steps to the side as my father brushes past him with a scowl on his face.

“What the hell is going on? Why are there police cars lining the driveway and making a mess of my damn house?” my father asks as he approaches me and Garrett.

“I think a better question would be, why are you out of the hospital?” I fire back.

He huffs, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms in front of him. “I told her she was just going to make it worse by altering the truth, but she wouldn’t listen. She’s been pissed at me for years and I went along with this asinine scheme of hers because she said it was the only way for her to save face. Hell, a part of me felt guilty for putting her through what I did, so I let her do whatever she wanted. It’s not like I planned on ever coming back, so it didn’t matter to me one way or another what everyone thought.”

I’m growing more and more confused the longer he talks and I wonder if I should ask one of the officers for a straight jacket or some shit. He’s not making any sense and it’s becoming more and more apparent that he really has lost his mind.

“I’m not the crazy one, so wipe that look off your face,” he snaps.

“Dad, I don’t have time for this shit right now. Olivia is missing and she might be hurt. If you know something about that, you better fucking come clean.”

The anger in his face morphs into worry. “You have to understand, I thought she was doing better. I really thought she’d moved on and all the hatred and jealousy was finished. The doctors thought they’d finally found the right combination of medicine for her and everything was looking better and better. I didn’t think it would hurt to pull a few strings and get Olivia hired as your nurse. I mean, this family did a number on her and it was my way of trying to make things right again. I know I wasn’t the best husband or father. I know I cared more about work than my family. It’s a tough pill to swallow when you get to be my age and realize your entire life was one big joke.”

I watched as he took a seat on the couch, slouching back on the cushions in defeat, looking nothing like the formidable man who intimidated me as a child.

“Jesus, son, didn’t you wonder why none of your relationships ever worked out? Those women headed for the hills faster than you could blink. Until Olivia. She’s a firecracker, that one. When we met her that day at the restaurant, I couldn’t help but smile, knowing she was going to fuck everything up. She wouldn’t be easy to bribe or threaten and I liked that about her. I also knew that it wouldn’t end well for her, so I went along with the plan because it was the only way to keep her safe. It was stupid and foolish, but it was the only thing we knew how to do. We’d been covering this shit up for years, hiding the truth from everyone.”