Page 112 of Our Darkest Summer

No one answered. Then Isaac readjusted his glasses.

“Helped you how?” he asked, his tone controlled. He was careful not to give the boy more attention than necessary.

Eric looked at us, like he knew something we didn’t. And he was in no rush to share it. At least, not before he had his fun.

Chapter Fifty-One

Kinsley

July 5. 11:14 a.m.

“I was calledinto the woods by Cora. Or more so, probably Eric.” My fingers picked at the skin along my nails, the raw edges catching. “She texted me, then sent me her location.” I unlocked my phone and slid it across the desk to Isaac. “The only reason I went there without backup was because I thought she was in danger... which, ultimately, was true.”

Cora had been a ruse. That was all the police needed to know. After what Isaac had told me, I had a feeling he thought so too.

I cleared my throat. “Then Eric attacked me from behind… he would’ve killed me if Thomas hadn’t gotten there in time.”

My chest tightened. If he had found us a few seconds later...

“Then Eric pulled a gun.” I left out a few details. “He said he wanted to kill me to hurt Thomas, then he would kill Thomas to hurt his dad. His mom told him Joshua Rhodes was his father.”

Isaac nodded. “We ran the tests. They’re not related.”

I exhaled. I knew that, but still, hearing it backed by science was a relief.

Then, something clicked.Ran the tests?

“Joshua’s here?” I asked, surprised.

“He was. An hour or two ago.”

My fingers tensed. Does Thomas know? Probably not. He seemed too calm for that.

Isaac studied me. “I need to ask,” his voice shifted. “Do you happen to know anything about the wound on Eric’s head?”

It took me a second to realize he didn’t mean the bruises caused by Thomas. He said his head. I had been facing away when that happened. When Samantha hit him.

So, technically, I wasn’t lying when I said, “I didn’t see anything happen to him.”

Isaac wrote something down.

I hesitated. “Can I ask something too?” My voice slightly wavered, so I cleared my throat and added quickly, “Two things, actually.”

He nodded, gesturing for me to go ahead. I wet my lips and shifted on the chair.

“Did they ever find out what happened to those kids who disappeared in 2009?”

A shadow crossed Isaac’s face, darkening his expression. “No.” He shook his head after a beat. “We never found them. It was likely human trafficking.”

I swallowed, the weight of his words pressing down on my chest. The silence stretched, thick with something unspoken.

Human trafficking. One of the most horrifying, merciless crimes in the world. They hunted you down, erased you, and sold you like you were nothing but a number. Stripped you of your name, your life, your existence.

Those kids—now likely adults—were still out there somewhere. Lost. Trapped. Stolen from their families, their friends, their futures.

And how many others?

“What was your other question?” Isaac’s voice pulled me back into the present.