Part 3Starting Over at Four

I jumped off the couch immediately. "She's not going!"

Aunt Renee laughed. "We're just stepping outside the door. You can come too, Levi."

Candy was in her arms, still clutching that little stuffed bunny of hers. She looked at me. "You're coming too, Levi?"

I was about to follow them when Aunt Renee gently blocked me with her arm. "Levi, your shoes are on the wrong feet. Go fix them."

I looked down. My shoes were not on the wrong feet.

By the time I looked up again, the door was open. Aunt Renee was already out, with Candy in her arms.

I screamed. "Dad!"

I sprinted to the doorway. The elevator doors had just closed.

I pounded on them with both hands. "Candy! Candy!"

Dad came in from the balcony. "What happened?"

"Aunt Renee took Candy!"

Mom came running from the kitchen. "What?"

She pulled out her phone and called Aunt Renee, but there was no answer. She called again, and still no answer.

In the family group chat, Aunt Renee had sent a voice message.

"Mary, the photographer's in a rush, so I'm taking Candy over now. Don't worry. I'll bring her right back after the shoot, and I'll send you the 20 grand then too."

The color drained from Mom's face.

Dad grabbed his car keys. "Which way did she go?"

I threw myself at him and slapped his phone. "The watch! Dad, check my watch!"

He did not understand. "What watch?"

I held up my bare wrist and showed him. "I gave it to Candy!"

Dad froze for one second. The next, he opened the phone watch tracking app.

A small red dot appeared on the screen. It was not downstairs. It was not at any photography studio in the city center either. It was behind the old shopping mall across from our neighborhood.

Mom saw the location, and her voice changed. "Why would she be there?"

That mall had been closed for years. The front entrance was plastered with leasing ads, and the glass doors were coated in dust. There was no children's clothing studio anywhere near it.

I grabbed Dad's shirt, sobbing. "Candy's there!"

Dad's expression turned terrifyingly dark. "Mary, call the police."

Mom dialed with shaking hands.

Nana called again at that exact moment, but Mom did not pick up. The family group chat was still blowing up.

[What's going on with you two now? Renee already said she's taking Candy to the shoot. You still don't believe her?]

[You know how easily Renee gets hurt, and she's only trying to help. This really isn't right.]

[That boy of yours has a real temper. You need to get him in line.]

Dad did not look at the chat. He scooped me up with one arm, grabbed his phone and keys, and ran for the door. Mom was right behind him, tears streaming down her face.

The wind hit hard when we reached the ground floor. Dad ran with me in his arms, fast. I pressed my chin into his shoulder and kept my eyes locked on the red dot on his phone screen.

It was not moving. It stayed right there, behind the old mall.

I knew that place. In my previous life, I had gone back to it many times after I grew up. The police had eventually traced it all back there.

That was where Aunt Renee had handed Candy off to Ray. After that, Candy was loaded into a car and driven out of state.

The only problem was that by the time we found those leads, it had been far too late.

I gripped Dad's shirt tighter. "Faster, Dad, faster!"

We had to be fast enough. This time, we had to make it.

Dad was breathing hard. "Don't be scared. Daddy's here."

I wanted to tell him that I was scared, and I was terrified. I was terrified of being one step too late again. I was terrified of losing Candy all over again.

Mom ran alongside us, calling Aunt Renee over and over. This time, the call went through. She put it on speaker, her voice shaking.

"Renee, where are you?"