Julia was missing.


    Ste and Gina had spent hoursbing the area around Dolphin Cove with Briony, but there wasn''t a single clue to be found.


    Night had fallen, New Year''s Eve was one day closer, and the sky was dumping endless snow, nketing the entire city in a relentless blizzard.


    Briony wandered through the storm like a lost child, searching for any trace of Julia.


    Where could her mother have gone?


    This city was so vast, and yet the only ce her mother could truly call home was their modest apartment near Dolphin Cove-a hundred square meters and nothing more. But Julia wasn''t there.


    Why did she leave?


    Briony couldn''t make sense of it. The guilt gnawed at her; she med herself for not looking after her mother, for not being thoughtful enough...


    The wind and snow grew harsher, battering her slender frame until she staggered. Several times she slipped and fell, but each time she stubbornly pushed herself back to her feet.


    No matter how Ste tried to talk sense into her, Briony wouldn''t listen. Searching for someone on foot in weather like this was madness-pure self-punishment.


    Finally, when reasoning failed, Ste and Gina resorted to force, dragging Briony back into the car.


    At four in the morning, Cedric rke''s phone rang.


    Ste was on the line.


    When he heard Julia was missing, Cedric sprang out of bed, dressed in record time, grabbed his car keys, and rushed out the door.


    Twenty minutester, his white Cayenne pulled up outside the Kensington estate gates.


    A BMW idled nearby, headlights glowing in the darkness.


    Cedric stepped out and walked over. As he approached, Ste and Briony climbed out of the BMW.


    "I''m so sorry to trouble you again, Dr. rke," Briony rasped, her voice hoarse.


    Given the rke family''s influence in Northborough, even the Kensingtons wouldn''t dare turn Cedric away. The situation was urgent, and Briony had no choice but to ask for his help.


    Cedric took one look at her face and frowned. "Wait in the car. Dr. Joyner and I will go in."


    Briony looked paler than the swirling snow, her nose and eyes red and swollen, her whole body ragged with exhaustion. The bandage on her forehead was spotted with blood; running around in this weather with an injury like that was sheer recklessness.


    Ste gently urged her, "Dr. rke''s right, Bryn. Wait in the car."


    Briony pressed her lips together and said nothing, but she didn''t move.


    Ste sighed. "Ms. Hudson hasn''t been found yet you can''t fall apart now."


    That finally got through to Briony. She nodded and turned back to the car.


    She closed the door behind her and stared anxiously out the window, watching as Ste and Cedric rke disappeared into the Kensington estate.


    The wait was agonizing.


    Outside, the wind howled; inside the car, Briony kept her eyes glued to the big iron gates. She both hoped her mother was there and dreaded what might


    happen if the Kensingtons found her first.


    Suddenly, there was movement at the gate.


    The Kensingtons'' elderly butler personally escorted Cedric and Ste out. Briony''s heart leapt then sank as quickly as it had risen. Only Cedric and Ste emerged.


    They opened the car door, standing outside as Briony looked up at them.


    Cedric shook his head. "We tried everything-reasoning, threats, you name it. She''s not here."


    Briony dropped her gaze. "Then where could she have gone?"


    Northborough was enormous, but Briony couldn''t think of a single other ce her mother might go.


    In desperation, they even checked the Hudson family home-thest ce Julia would ever choose. Cedric went with her. By the time they left, dawn had broken. The snow had stopped, but the sky was still a dull gray.


    Julia was still missing.


    Cedric headed straight to the hospital-he had a major surgery scheduled that morning.


    Ste called in to take the day off and apanied Briony to the police station to file a report.


    At nine a.m., Ste helped a dazed, exhausted Briony out of the precinct. Gina trailed behind, wiping tears from her cheeks.


    She was eaten up with regret, still wondering if Julia would be safe now-if only she hadn''t left to run errands the day before, maybe none of this would have happened...