Page 136 of Chaotic Curse
Belinda didn’t write this note.And she didn’t run away.I know it as well as I know my own name.
The timing is…
What is it?
I finally figure out who’s been taunting me, and Belinda vanishes.
Is the chef here in the US?Or is someone doing his bidding?
He wants something.He wants leverage.He wants me moving toward him.
“The police say to keep her room intact,” Raven calls from the hall, her voice too high.“Don’t touch anything.They’re dispatching a unit.”
Vinnie’s talking over her, lower, calmer.“Yes, eleven.Yes, white, fair skin.Blue eyes, blond hair.Four foot eleven.Last seen at— We think sometime after nine…”
I set the note on the desk, careful, like it might explode.My hands shake.I shove them into my pockets so they don’t start doing something stupid, like riffling through drawers.Preserve the scene.Don’t contaminate evidence.I know the rules.
I pull my phone out to call Hawk.
Straight to voicemail.Again.
“Hey, it’s me,” I whisper, because saying his name hurts.“Emergency.Please call me.”
I hang up, type fast before I can start crying.
Belinda’s missing.She left a note, but I don’t think it’s from her.Please call ASAP.
I hit send.
The doorbell rings.
The police are here.I run out of Belinda’s room.Raven and Vinnie are still talking on their respective phones.“I’ll get the door,” I say swiftly and race down the stairs.
I yank the door open.
Not the police.
The woman on the porch is dressed in a dark suit with a silver badge at the breast.
“Thank God you’re here,” I say.“Please come in.I’m Daniela.I’m Belinda’s foster sister.”
“You’re Daniela?”she asks.“Daniela Agudelo?”
“Yes.”I cock my head.“How do you know my last name?”
Then I notice her badge.
It doesn’t say Austin Police Department.
It says U.S.Department of Homeland Security.
My mouth goes dry.
“I’m Officer Leona Patel with DHS, serving documents on behalf of USCIS.”She opens a leather case and pulls out a stapled packet.“A decision has been issued in your Temporary Protected Status matter.”
I grip the doorframe.“Decision?I don’t understand, the judge said?—”
“What the Austin Family Court judge said has no bearing.The matter was referred to our office.”
