Emily sighed in frustration as she checked her phone for the tenth time that morning. Still no messages or missed calls from Sam. They were supposed to meet at their usual spot by the oak tree before first period, but Sam was a no-show. It wasn't like her to flake without any warning.
"Have you heard from Sam?" Emily asked, approaching Sam's other friends at their lockers between classes.
"No, I thought she was with you," replied Maria.
"That's weird. She never misses school," added Jason with a frown. "Maybe she's just running late?"
But Emily couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Sam would have at least sent her a quick text if she was going to be absent. She tried calling Sam's phone again, but it went straight to voicemail.
As the final school bell rang, Emily made a decision. If Sam wasn't going to come to her, she would go find Sam herself. She jumped on the next bus downtown and went straight to Sam's house.
Emily knocked on the front door and waited impatiently for a response. After several minutes with no answer, she tried peering into the windows but saw no signs of life inside. Where could Sam be?
She pulled out her phone to call their other friends for help when her gaze fell on a dark alleyway beside Sam's house. A glint of something shiny caught her eye in the gloom. Curiosity getting the better of her, Emily went to investigate.
Peering into the garbage bins, she clamped a hand over her mouth in shock. There, wedged behind an overflowing bag of trash, was Sam's favorite locket. The locket she never took off, not even in the shower. Anxiety rising, Emily pocketed the locket and raced back to the bus stop, her mind racing.
Could Sam have been attacked? But then why leave her possessions behind? Emily needed more clues, and she knew just where to start - the local police station. Maybe they had reports of anything suspicious in the area. She hopped on the next bus downtown, determined to get answers.
After flashing Sam's student ID photo to the skeptical officer at the front desk, Emily finally got someone to take her concerns seriously. Officer Thompson led her into his cramped office, closing the door behind them.
"Tell me everything you know so far, miss," he prompted, flipping open a notepad.
Emily recounted finding Sam's locket and her mother's insistence that Sam never came home last night. Officer Thompson listened intently, jotting down notes. When Emily mentioned the dark alleyway near Sam's house, a look of recognition passed over his face.
"We may have caught a lead already," he reassured Emily. "I was actually assigned to a homicide case in that same alley last night. A young man was murdered in a confrontation, seemingly mafia related. Few eyewitnesses, but one description matches your friend Samantha."
Emily's blood ran cold at the mention of the mafia. "You - you don't think...?"
"It's too soon to speculate. But I'll be sure to explore any connections." Officer Thompson handed Emily his card. "Call me immediately if you think of anything else, day or night. In the meantime, I'll look into possible mafia links and see if I can track down your friend."
As Emily left the station, a small sense of relief washed over her knowing the police were now involved. But her concern for Sam only deepened as Vincent Russo's control over the city streets came into focus. Emily was more determined than ever to find Sam, even if it meant going up against the mafia herself.
