Rossie dashed towards Emma's house as soon as she received the news about Chelsea. She ran as fast as she could with never having both her feet on the ground at the same time.

Once she reached there, she saw a police mobile standing outside the main gate. But she wasn't paying heed to it. She barged inside the villa-like house, and her eyes started searching for Emma.

On one couch, Rossie saw Emma sitting with her head in both of her hands. Jess sat next to Emma, consolidating her. Rossie ran in that direction.

"Emma!" Rossie said in a faint voice.

Emma raised her head with a quick gesture on hearing the voice.

Sensing Rossie's presence, she stood abruptly. Hugging Rossie, Emma started crying again.

Judging Emma's looks, it was pretty clear she has been crying for quite a while.

"Rossie, my little sister!" Emma said in between tears.

"She'll be alright, I promise. My dad will do anything and everything to find her. Please calm down." Rossie requested Emma with her voice filled in worry.

Rossie gently stroked Emma's head while trying to comfort her.

"Calm down, Em!" Rossie said, holding Emma by her shoulders.

Emma nodded while drawing wet air from her nose. Then Emma literally let herself fall on the couch and started weeping silently once again.

Seeing Emma with pity and sorrow, Rossie turned towards Jessie.

"You take care of her. I'll go talk to my dad about the proceedings in the case." Rossie said and took another pitiful yet worried glance towards Emma, who sat in the same position with her head in her hands.

For a moment, everything slipped out of memory. Rossie and Jessie's fight. Rossie and Emma's misunderstandings. Rossie's fright. Everything was put behind. Priorities were sorted.

Rossie rushed towards her dad after leaving Emma with Jess. Police officers, neighbors, and some people seeming to care had crowded the place. Making way through all of these, Ross finally saw her father standing on the lawn talking to two other police officers.

"Dad! We need to talk!" Rossie exclaimed impatiently as soon as she reached her father's eyesight.

Frank took a glance at Rossie's face and then instructed his men to wrap up his talk,

"You go talk to Mr. Styles. I'll join in a moment."

Then Frank turned his complete attention towards Ross, who stood there in a fidgety condition.

"I am so sorry about it, love!" Frank started with sorrow covering his face.

He turned his face towards the mansion and shook his head in grief.

"I want you to find her, Daddy!" Rossie pleaded restlessly.

"I'll do all I can, my child! You must take care of her sister." Frank affirmed politely.

Seeing her daughter's fretfulness, Frank reassured Rossie before taking leave,

"I'll handle it. Don't worry. Now, I must go and have a talk with Mr. and Mrs. Styles. There's something I wanted to discuss. Take care." Frank walked past Rossie, patting her shoulder.

Rossie stood there fidgety and irritated. Clenching her fists, she found herself very helpless. Unable to do anything. Thoughts kept spinning in her head, and she smashed her fist on the wall out of anger and helplessness. Her hand started bleeding, but she didn't care to pay heed. Disturbed, she stood there trying to figure out some solution.

Inside the mansion, a group of people, including Stephanie, Dylan, Emma, Sheriff Frank, and two police attendants, could be seen discussing some issues.

"Wait a minute!" Emma interrupted, all of a sudden, in a shocked voice.

"You mean, you want me to believe that my 13-year-old innocent sister ran from her own house with some of her freaking friends.!?" said Emma in a harsh voice. She spoke acrimoniously.

"Listen, dear! I know this is really harsh of a fact to be believed." Frank paused while saying with grief and then continued,

"But that's the truth. You need to take it. She left the house early in the morning. And according to all the resources I've got, she left with her friend Daniella." The Sheriff started sharing his investigation. Emma looked at him with a hate-filled gaze.

"Her car's not parked. No one has seen her either since morning." he continued,

"As far as Chelsea is concerned, many of her belongings are missing from her room. Most of the necessary amenities and her backpack isn't there. Which means only one thing-" he paused, taking a glance at Emma's expressions.

"Chelsea left willingly." Frank sighed with his face covered in sorrow.

"No way, there's a chance I'm gonna believe your stupid story!" Emma said aloud angrily.

She wasn't the same Emma from a while ago, who sat weeping like a baby. She has now turned into a protector, a guardian striving to find her sister.

"I know my sister more than anyone else. You, your police department, all these people..." Emma pointed everyone as she said,

"You are all worthless. You cannot find a little girl. All-day, you kept saying you'll find her. And now that you can't get a trace of her, so you come out to say she left home willingly. And then one fine day you'll come and tell us, oh, we found your daughter's corpse, accept our condolences..." Emma was saying with her voice shaking out of anger and grief.

Suddenly, she was interrupted by the harsh scold from her father.

"Enough, Emma!" Dylan shouted.

Dylan was known to be a very calm and steady person. No one has ever seen him shout like that. As a consequence, Emma's moving tongue stopped working. Words feared leaving her throat. She stood still, biting her lips.

"Stephanie, take your daughter. I need to discuss some important issues with the Sheriff." Dylan instructed scornfully.

After a while, Stephanie could be seen sitting on the couch, tears falling like a waterfall from her eyes. Emma went back and forth in front of her. Shaking her head in denial, Emma said,

"You won't be serious if you say believe all that rubbish!" Emma was still annoyed by the fact that her innocent sister was being accused of some sincere crimes.

She sat on her heels, holding Stephanie's knees and watching at her face in hope and fear.

"You know she didn't leave us. She was the most obedient child. You know she didn't run away, right?" Emma said with courage-building in her soul.

"No!" Stephanie said in between tears.

She wasn't even facing Emma. She watched somewhere in between the space where the dust particles floated.

"Why do you think she wouldn't leave us? Why do you think she wouldn't disobey?" Stephanie now turned her face towards Emma.

Stephanie's eyes were filled with shattered, broken pieces of pain. Emma could feel it, but she chose to remain silent.

"Younger ones learn from the elders, don't they? Did you obey me when I told you not to follow on that stupid project of yours! It's because of you. All because of you." Stephanie said with her voice bursting out of suffering.

And Emma felt the last candle of hope extinguished by the cold wind that her mother's words blew. Her heels stumbled, and she fell onto the ground. She wasn't expecting this from her mother. She wasn't expecting her mother to believe.

Well, now, she didn't even know what to believe and what not to. She felt she was left stranded in the desert where she searched for her sister only to find at the end - it was all a mirage.

To clear her shutting down the mind, Emma headed straight outside the house. She felt breathless inside. Captured in a cell of lies.

On the other hand, while Rossie was leaving the house, Jessie joined her, saying,

"I guess we need to talk!"

Rossie accepted her talk by nodding her head.

The moment they were on the road and were about to talk, the fierce voice of Emma echoed in their ears,

"I guess my best friends forgot my sister's gone missing!"

Both Jess and Ross turned on their heels with their eyes wide open. Emma was looking at them with sharp eyes. Then, suddenly after a few intense silent moments, Emma's voice changed into a suspicious tone.

"You know, at first, I thought nothing good could come out of my sister going missing. But now I guess I proved myself wrong." Emma said with her eyes narrowed.

"What are you talkin' about, Em?" Rossie asked, her face drowned in confusion.

"Oh! You see, my sister's gone missing. But, voila! My two best friends, who have been quarreling like cats and dogs until yesterday, have now laid down their arms and reunited. Isn't it amazing!" exclaimed Emma with an innocent smile and flickering eyes.

The way Emma expressed it, a sheepish smile climbed onto Jess and Ross's faces.

"Oh, no, no! No need to be embarrassed." Emma stated in the same way and then added,

"I am pretty sure that you two have put your differences aside in order to search for my dear little sister," said Emma and paused for a moment.

"And if this isn't the case," frowned Emma.

"And you're just trying to bail on me. Then listen up, girls! My head is boiling, and I wouldn't hesitate to kill you two!" said Emma and exhaled audibly as a sign of anger.

"Nah! That would be a pity!" Jessie exclaimed mischievously.

"Yeah, you're right! I don't wanna get killed by you, Emma." Rossie added in a teasing tone.

"After all, I don't wanna die in the hands of such naive, insignificant killer. If you gotta get killed, better prefer some classy serial killers, like the Zodiac or Jack The Ripper, kind of people." Jessie said and gave out a chuckle at the end.

Rossie nodded her head in approval and gave a high five to Jessie. Emma's expression changed as a result of disrelish. She swiftly moved forward and pinched Jessie's arm with one hand while slightly punching Rossie's abdomen.

"You idiots!" She said, partly annoyed and partly cheered up.

"Ouch!" Both Emma and Jess exclaimed at once as they received Emma's blow.

And in no longer than the blink of an eye, all three of them started laughing at their own stupidity. While walking, they didn't realize they were standing next to a narrow byroad.

"What's so funny? Won't you like to share with me?" Suddenly a voice emerged from the byroad in a sarcastic yet haunting tone that creeped out the three girls standing on the street.

It took them some moments before they could realize the person standing in front of them. It was on the shadow side. So, a figure standing with her hands in the pockets of her hoodie could be seen. Observing carefully, the face underneath the hoodie became understandable.

"O, My God! Is it--" Emma's words hesitated to come out as a fear of being proven wrong.

She turned her face towards Rossie, who was quite relaxed as compared to Emma herself. Rossie nodded on noticing her gaze as a sign of approval that she is thinking right.

Finally, Emma turned back her face towards the shadowy figure and jumped out to hug her in pleasure and amazement, saying,

"I just couldn't believe it's actually you, Angie! 10 years and you're still the way you were!" said Emma with her voice encompassing various feelings.

She pulled out, and then, as a sudden thought flashed her mind, she turned back towards Jessie. Jess was standing like a frozen dead body. Without blinking her eyes, she kept staring at me. Her gaze made me feel on pins and needles. What is to come was literally unexpected!

*************

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