The picture became clearer: Derrick had probably found Emily. Maybe he’d threatened her. Maybe worse. And to protect her unborn child, she’d run away. She’d changed her identity. She’d disappeared.
But how did Luca end up homeless?
Briggs uncovered one final, devastating twist. Two years ago, Emily was declared dead. A body had washed up in a nearby bay: same size, similar clothing to what Emily had been wearing the day she disappeared. Authorities closed the case. But the body was never formally identified. Dental records were never matched. It wasn’t her.
James’s next lead came from Carla, the woman who once ran the shelter where Emily was staying. Now elderly, she remembered Emily very well.
“She was terrified,” Carla said. “She said a man was chasing her. I helped deliver Luca. But one night, she just… disappeared. I was always afraid someone would catch her.”
James was speechless.
Then came the breakthrough.
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