Chapter 14
There was no way a person could catch up to a moving car.
In just a few seconds, it was gone–out of Charley’s sight.
He stopped running, breath short, mind spinning.
It was just a random car. What the hell was he thinking? Maybe he really did need to get his head checked.
Elsie hurried over, looking confused. “What’s going on?”
Snapping back to reality, Charley gave a quick shake of his head.
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“Nothing. Thought I saw someone, that’s all.
EN
“You done shopping? Let’s head back.”
Elsie nodded. “Okay.”
She hadn’t come to town to buy anything for herself.
Tabitha Huynh was deep into dementia.
Some days, she thought she was still a child and would go on and on about wanting pizza like the ones from her childhood.
So now that the roads had finally reopened, Elsie came into town just to get one for her.
Before they left, Charley couldn’t resist taking a few photos of the street stalls. He sent them to Erma.
No reply.
The silence only made the unease in his chest worse.
Back in the car, Elsie glanced over and said, sounding a little guilty, “Sorry for dragging you out.
“My uncle was acting so weird today. I told him I could go alone–I mean, I’m not a kid.
“It’s the middle of the day. Did he really think I needed a chaperone?”
Charley’s hands tightened on the steering wheel–his fingers trembled.
That gnawing feeling that had been chasing him all day… suddenly found a shape.
He remembered that morning, when Elsie was getting ready to leave alone.
The strange look on Marlin’s face. The way he insisted Charley go with her, even when she protested.
And now, a cold, sharp thought slipped into his mind. Maybe… this was never about Elsie.
Maybe he never should’ve left.
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11:20 Tue, Aug 12
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Chapter 14
What if that story about Nolan being bedridden for a few days–what if that was just a lie?
The unease in his chest flared into full–blown panic.
His foot pressed harder on the gas.
But the faster he drove, the more wrong it all felt.
Not like he was getting closer to Erma–but like he was speeding further and further away from her.
His thoughts flashed back to that car that had passed him earlier. Just some random car. Right?
Then why was he suddenly gasping for air, like someone had knocked the wind out of him?
He shouldn’t have left.
He had made a mistake. A terrible, stupid mistake.
He slammed on the gas and raced back to the house.
By the time he returned to the Huynh family home, it was already too late. The house was empty–except for Tabitha and her nurse, not a soul in sight.
He searched every room, upstairs and down. And even though he didn’t want to believe it… There was no denying it: Erma was gone.
Marlin had lied to him.
Had they gone back to Ylaso?
That had to be it.
Ylaso had the best hospitals, the best doctors.
That was where they would’ve gone to treat Nolan. Marlin probably went with them.
It was fine. If they were in Ylaso, he could go there too.
That thought gave him just enough comfort to hold on. But sweat was already prickling at his forehead.
He walked into Tabitha’s room, forcing a calm voice. “Did they go to Ylaso?”
For once, she was lucid, sitting by the window, sun on her face.
She turned to look at him, surprised. “Ylaso?
“No, they went abroad. To get that gentleman treated. You didn’t know?
“They said… Erma might even stay there with him for good.”
Charley was still staring at his phone, the screen frozen on an unanswered WhatsApp message.
He’d sent the photos to Erma, but there was still no reply.
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Chapter 14
And then, the moment he heard Tabitha’s words, his phone slipped from his hand and hit the ground with a dull thud.
Charley had lost Erma.
He couldn’t reach her. He had no idea what country she’d gone to.
Suddenly, he remembered that moment earlier–when Elsie had reached into his coat pocket for his wallet.
That strange, inexplicable feeling he’d had then–that Erma was watching him.
Maybe it hadn’t been his imagination after all.
They were the only family each other had left in this world.
Maybe it was something instinctive. A bond that hadn’t been broken just yet.
He had felt her presence then.
And now… he realized he had felt her leaving.
But it was only now–far too late–that he understood.
Back at the market, when Erma saw Elsie reach into his pocket like it was the most natural thing in the world-
What had she been thinking?
For years, he’d deliberately stayed close to Elsie.
He knew it made Erma uncomfortable, and still, he did it anyway.
Not just out of resentment, though that was part of it..
It went deeper than that.
He’d gotten close to Elsie because she was Marlin’s niece.
Ever since their parents died, Erma had become distant, hollowed out, like all the life had drained out of her.
Once, he secretly followed her to the hospital.
He heard her telling the doctor she often felt short of breath, her chest tight, like she couldn’t breathe properly.
Charley feared there was something wrong with her heart.
He’d wanted to ask the best expert he could find–Marlin..
But after their parents passed, the Huynh family had drifted away from them.
And Charley, too proud, too awkward, couldn’t bring himself to admit his real concern.
So instead, he tried to get close to Marlin through Elsie.
He figured that someday, casually, he could bring it up–ask about Erma, maybe get her the help she needed.
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Chapter 14
But of course, Erma would never know all that.
To her, it probably just looked like he’d chosen someone else to call “sister.” That he’d replaced her.
The pain in his chest grew sharper. Almost unbearable.
And now… he had to face the truth.
He really might not get her back. In fact, he might’ve lost her a long time ago.
That stubborn, clingy little sister who used to follow him around, pestering him, getting into trouble…
She’d already been gone for years, hadn’t she?
Charley returned to Ylaso and searched for her the entire day. Nothing. Not a single lead.
He even considered going to the police.
But they told him Erma was an adult.
She had every right to leave, to disappear, to go wherever she wanted without telling anyone.
And then, a memory hit him.
The year their parents died, Erma had only been fifteen..
He’d spent the last seven years fighting with her. Seven years of silence, bitterness, cold war. It didn’t feel like seven years.
Time had frozen for him. He’d used his anger toward her to cope with the sudden loss of their parents.
But now, standing on a freezing street corner on Christmas‘ Eve, he found himself wondering-
Maybe… maybe she hadn’t been so wrong.
Maybe that story he’d heard–that she insisted on staying home that day to plan his eighteenth birthday party-
Maybe that wasn’t a lie after all.
With his mind reeling and no answers in sight, Charley dialed Marlin’s number one more time.
This time, someone finally picked up.
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