Chapter 19

Richard sat in his office when his father stormed inside.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Gerald McDowell hissed.

“I’m handling the problem as it should have been handled a long time ago,” Richard said without even looking up from the file he was reading.

“Cecelia is my daughter!” Gerald slammed his fist on the desk, making the papers fly around and almost knocking over the cup of coffee Richard was drinking from. “You can’t just go around and declare her missing, goddammit! Are you stupid or something?!”

Richard finally looked up and raised an eyebrow at his father. “No,” he said calmly, “I’m not stupid. And neither was I when I decided to do what needed to be done. I tried to talk to your wife, but she only fed me with excuses. So I figured, since she wouldn’t do anything about it, I should.”

Gerald narrowed his eyes at him. “You think you know so much better, don’t you? That you’re old enough to make decisions for this family and its members? That you have some kind of power over