The atmosphere in the house had never been more angry. He was used to getting yelled at, because no matter what, he'd always known that Minerva never meant anything he said. But today had been different. When he's spilled his glass of water, she shouted at him about how careless he was. When he'd forgotten to do the dishes, she'd snapped.

She's screamed and thrown a glass at the wall before telling him that it was his fault that "she" was gone. He hadn't needed to think about that for a second. Minerva was referring to Aerith and just saying her name would have sent her into a flurry of tears. Apparently, thinking about her had the same affect though, because she rushed off to her room crying.

And genesis, he'd smashed every plate in the sink. How could she even say that to him? There was no way this was his fault. He wasn't the one who'd sent her out that late just for some rice and mile. No, if anyone was to blame here, it was Minerva. They could have had something else, but she'd insisted… It wasn't his fault.

Even so, there was always a feeling in his chest whenever he thought about it. He'd been lazy that night, and Aerith had gone out instead. If he hadn't been so lazy, maybe Aerith would have still been there…

But no, she was gone. She was gone and she'd been gone for 2 months now. 2 months… and his life had turned to garbage. Minerva spent most of her time at the police station and any time that she wasn't there, she was home yelling at him. His dad was drinking day and night and they barely saw each other. Genesis was always alone, even at school things were weird. Strangers would come up to him and say how sorry they were, as if Aerith was never coming back, but that wasn't the case.

At one point, he'd convinced himself that she'd run away to see her first foster mother Elmyra. It made since, Aerith talked about the woman all the time. But the school counselor told him he was just denying the truth, Aerith wasn't safe anywhere. She was just gone.

He didn't know where she was but when she came back, he was going to punch her. And then he would hug her and never let her go again.

0.o.0.o.0

Minerva sat at the police station, nervously chewing on her pen cap. She felt guilty about what she'd said to Genesis but she couldn't focus on that at the moment. Right now, she needed to talk to the officer working the case. But where was he?

She'd been sitting there for 2 hours and he still hadn't returned, according to the other officers, he was taking a lunch break. But since when did lunch breaks last 2 hours? Why wasn't he going over the evidence or doing something that would bring her baby home?

She pulled out her phone and was about to call him when he walked through the door. There were a few murmurs before she heard him walk over to her, "This way, ma'm." he motioned towards his office and she stood up. "I told you I would call when I found something new." he said as they entered.

"Yes, but that was 3 weeks ago." she sat down, "You still haven't called."

"Because we haven't found anything." He said, "The only evidence of her kidnapping was the groceries left at the scene. There was no blood, no hairs, nothing. There was something…"

"What?" he didn's answer, "Tseng? What is it?"

"A body found in a lake near the her school. The face is too decayed but she's wearing the exact outfit you said Aerith was wearing when she went missing."

"But it isn't her." Minerva shook her head.

"Until we find otherwise, we'll be closing the kidnapping case."

"No, it isn't here, she's still alive somewhere." Minerva said. Somewhere in a basement, being tortured and assaulted or maybe she was just lost and trying to find her way home. They'd never know if they gave up now,

"Our new priority is searching for her murderer, although I will tell you that there aren't any leads at all." Tseng said.

"No, you aren't listening. My baby isn't dead. She isn't." Minerva took a breath, "I would have felt it…"

"Usually, if children aren't found 3 days after they go missing, they're dead." Tseng said softly, "I'm sorry."

"Yu don't understand." Minerva sniffled,

"We'll call if we find something."

"You said that before… a-and you didn't." She started to cry. How could they just give up? Surely there was someway to tell if that body really belonged to Aerith, DNA tests or something. There was a way. "My baby isn't dead… she isn't."

"I understand-"

"No you don't." she snapped, "You don't know anything about this. Your baby isn't gone. Your family hasn't completely fallen apart and you don't have to listen to people tell you that daughter is dead."

"I understand." Tseng repeated, "She wasn't my daughter, but I understand."

Even if someone he loved had gone missing, it wasn't the same. It never would be. Without a word, she stood up and left the office. She needed to make it to her car before she completely broke down. As she was walking, she fumbled though her purse for her keys and when she found them, she came face to face with a small ceramic keychain that she and Aerith had made in a pottery class a long time ago.

She ran her fingers over the sloppy lettering, 'I Love Mommy' it said. And Aerith had a similar one that simply said, 'I Love You'. She lost it then.

Her knees felt weak and she slowly eased herself onto the ground. No one could see her here. She was safe, so she cried. There was no proof that the body they'd found was Aerith. Some other poor girl had been murdered but not her baby. No, her baby was still alive somewhere. She had to tell herself that several times before pulling herself together and finding her car. As she unlocked the door, someone called out to her.

"Excuse me! You dropped this?" she turned around and saw a young man walking over to her. "I mean people said this was yours, so I assume you dropped it."

She looked at the item in his hand, a rabbit pin. No, she hadn't dropped it, "This is my daughter's, she'd been wearing it when she…"

"She what? Did she die?" he asked slowly.

"No." she said firmly, "She's just been missing for 2 months now." The man gasped.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know." he said, "I've been bragging to my brothers about how much this would be worth when one of them said that it was yours…"

She took the pin and stared at it, "Where did you find it?" she asked,

"Down near the lake near the school where I work. I found it a few days ago." Her heart clenched, "But I swear I saw a girl wearing this same one last week."

"Where?" If the police wouldn't help, she would find Aerith on her own.

"Why don't you come with me? I think I can help you find your daughter." The man smiled, but she didn't notice. She was too busy thinking, she was going to get her baby back. "My name is Kadaj." he said.

"Minerva." she tucked the pin into her pocket and followed him.

0.o.0.o.0

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