When they got home that afternoon, they noticed that both their parents were still at work. "Livie, do you have any homework that you need to do?"
"Just maths."
"Ok, how about I make us some afternoon tea then we can start our homework?" The little girl nodded and Gabriella made them both a sandwich and grabbed two apples out of the fridge. They spoke while they were finishing their food. "Did you have fun today? Was anyone mean to you?"
"It was ok, I mostly played with Tatum and Clara and my teacher stopped the other kids from being mean. Were the big kids mean to you?"
Gabriella smiled gently. "I'm glad everything went alright today... The big kids were a little mean, but they always are. As long as you're not getting hurt, that's all I care about." Olivia hugged her big sister. "Thank you Sweet Girl." They finished off their food and the junior spoke up. "Alright, I have to do social studies, so how about you go do your homework in your room and you can come to me if you have any questions?"
"Ok Bria."
Gabriella went into her room and finished finalising her plans for the assignment before she started researching her topic. She decided to start with abuse and researched definitions, famous cases and how it was handled in court. After she finished the initial research, she moved onto the second half of her topic: child abduction. She got the same information before she saw a link to the missing children site. Figuring it would help with her research she clicked it and started scrolling through the photos. Her expression faltered as she saw all the boys and girls, ranging from a year old to her age. She had become so engrossed that she ended up schooling back five years and saw a photo that made her freeze.
Lilliana Mae Bolton
Missing Since: August 23, 2002
Missing From: Albuquerque, NM
DOB: June 16, 2000
Age now: 7
Sex: Female
Nationality: American
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Blue
Height: 33"
Weight: 26 lb
The resemblance between Olivia and the little girl disturbed Gabriella and the missing date made her stomach drop, her father had returned from his business trip three days later. She went to her closet and pulled out an old photo of her sister from when she was two and when she put it side by side with the poster of Lilliana, her heart stopped, it was the same person. "LIVIE, PACK YOUR STUFF, WE HAVE TO GO NOW."
The little girl ran into her room, her big sister never yelled. "Bria, what's wrong?"
"We have to get out of here Baby, I need you to pack a bag with everything you want to take, we need to leave before Mama and Papa get home, ok?"
The 7-year-old did as she was told and the junior followed the same instructions. She quickly printed off the missing child poster and threw it in her bag along with the old photo. She grabbed everything she wanted to take before meeting Olivia by the front door. She looked at the clock and knew her parents would be home soon, so she lifted her sister, planting her on her hip and ran until they were a safe distance from the house. "Bria, where are we going? Why do we have to go?"
"I think Mama and Papa are lying to us and I have to keep you safe, so we're going to the police station."
"Are we in trouble?"
"No Sweet Girl, of course not, we're just making sure." She kissed the top of her sister's head. "I don't know exactly what's going on or what's going to happen but I promise that as soon as I do, I'll tell you everything."
They made their way to the police station and were approached by a female officer. "What are you girls doing here?"
Gabriella placed Olivia onto her feet before digging through her bag to take out the two photos, handing them to the officer. "I think my parents are lying to us. I was researching child abduction for a school assignment and found the missing person poster. My father came home three days after the date on the poster with Olivia saying that he adopted her while on a business trip but the resemblance is too close, I - I just wanted to make sure."
The officer examined the photos. "You're definitely right about the resemblance... Come with me." They followed her to an office and she started typing on the computer, bringing up the full information on Lilliana's poster. "She definitely seems to fit... What's your date of birth?"
Gabriella looked at her quizically, answering, "December 14th, 1991, why?"
After some more typing, the officers hands froze, before bringing their attention to the screen. "Is this you?" The screen showed another missing child poster:
Gabriella Anne Montez
Missing Since: April 5, 1993
Missing From: San Diego, CA
DOB: December 14, 1991
Age now: 16
Sex: Female
Nationality: American/Spanish
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown
Height: 31"
Weight: 23 lb
"I-um-yeah I-I think so."
The officer looked at the girls sympathetically. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you, you did the right thing by coming here. I'm going to give you girls a moment to process all this while I talk to my supervisor about what our next step is. I just need to know the names of the people who took you."
"David and Vivien Tompson."
"Thank you, I'll give you two some time and will be right back."
