Never As It Seems

Chapter 15

           The first results were mostly old school records and achievements. I continued scrolling, searching for anything useful.

           “You play lacrosse?” I asked, passing an article about him winning a tournament during the school year.

           “Yes. And basketball. Didn’t I tell you that?” He asked.

           “No! I had no clue.” I said.

           He grinned sheepishly. “My bad.”

           I rolled my eyes and turned back around.

           “Wait, stop! What’s that?” Jesse asked, stopping my hand on a link dated two months ago.

           ‘Kidnapping suspect, Henry Miles, found and arrested.’

“That’s weird.” Jesse said, furrowing his brow at the screen.

“What?” I asked, turning my head to look at him.

“Henry Miles is my dad’s name. I haven’t seen or heard from him in about two months.” Jesse said, running a hand over his jaw and closing his eyes. I kissed his cheek and continued reading the article.

‘Miles is refusing to disclose the whereabouts of children that he took in 1996. He is claiming they were put up for adoption. Miles is the father of the children that he abducted nearly a year after their birth. The mother has asked that the surnames of the children be excluded for privacy purposes. The abducted children, Jesse and Jordan, have not yet been found. It is believed the two boys are living with an adoptive family somewhere in Northern Florida. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of these children, please contact the police department.’

My jaw dropped. “Jesse, look at this. You said your dad’s name is Henry Miles? Your name is right there. Does the nameJordansound familiar?” I asked him. 

“No. That is weird though. Google the kidnapping, babe. Maybe something will come up.” Jesse said

I looked at him and grinned. I’m pretty sure I looked like the Cheshire cat. Did he just call me babe? It sounded so cute! I shook my head at myself and turned around. I typed ‘1996 Henry Miles kidnapping’ into the search engine.

The first thing to pop up was a link to a video. I clicked on it, reading the summary. It was supposed to be a video about the grieving mother of the two boys. I pressed play, and waited for it to load.

At first, the screen was black, and a man’s deep voice came out of the speakers. “Last week, two young boys were kidnapped from their family home. They were just barely a year old. The suspect is the 45 year old father, Henry Miles.”

As soon as the black cleared, I was greeted by a familiar face. A very familiar face. I gasped and fell off of Jesse’s lap to the floor.

           JACEN’S MOTHER?! I started coughing into my hand, trying to breathe. Jesse picked me up and placed me back on his lap, pounding my back to help me breath. “What is wrong with you?” Jesse asked, looking at me like I was insane.

           “Jacen... T... That’s Jacen’s mom!” I finally coughed out. Jesse’s eyes widened as he turned his attention back to the screen.

           Jacen’s mother sobbed on the video. “I just want my little boys back. I have no idea why my husband would just take off with them. He took two of my sons, Jesse and Jordan, but left one of them here. They’re triplets.”