“What?” I asked, the word coming out as a croak. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know.” Ellie sounded panicked. I hated that tone in her voice but right now comforting her was the last thing on my mind. The only thing on my mind was Luna.

“She didn’t get off the bus,” I said, repeating her words, letting them sink in. “Maria. It was Maria.”

“How do you know?” Ellie asked.

“Because she’s the only one who would do this. Because she wants Luna just to get back at me,” I said, my words sharp and bitter. Every muscle in my body ached with tension and fear. Maria had the means to take Luna anywhere she wanted without me being able to find her. I didn’t want to think about what it would be like to never see my daughter again. My mouth went dry and I could barely speak.

“I have to go. I have to call the cops,” I said.

“I’m so sorry, Lucas, I—”

“It’s not your fault,” I said. I didn’t want to hear Ellie’s apologies. They weren’t going to bring Luna back.

“Can I come over when I get home?” she asked.

I’d already left Jim’s office and was on my way home. That was the last place I was going to check—I had to tell myself there was a possibility Luna had gone home somehow and was waiting for me.

“Yes,” I said to her, then hung up. I was on my way to my place when I called Alice, who picked up on the first ring.

“What’s up, bro?”

“Is Luna with you?”

“No. Why?” Alice asked.

“Because she’s missing. Ellie went to pick her up from the bus stop and she wasn’t there. Maria has taken her.”

“What?” Alice said, sounding dumbfounded. “You can’t find her?”

“No,” I said, almost yelling in frustration. I pulled up to the apartment and hurried upstairs, throwing the door open and looking all around the apartment.

“Luna?” I called out, though I knew it was hopeless. If Luna was there, she would have come out to greet me. “Luna!”

“Lucas, you need to call the cops,” Alice said.

“I know. I just wanted to check with you first.”

“Keep me posted,” she said. Her voice sounded filled with worry, something that was completely unlike Alice. I hung up and paced around my living room as I called the cops. When they answered, I tried to keep my voice calm and even, but it was shaking.

“What’s your emergency?” the operator on the other end of the line said.

“My daughter is missing.”

“Your daughter is missing? How long has she been gone?”

“I don’t know,” I said, my hand clenched into a fist at my side. “Since before school got out. My friend—my friend went to go pick her up and she wasn’t at school. She must be with my wife.”

“Is your wife her mother?”

“Yes, but we’re separated. Luna has been staying with me. Listen, I have to find my daughter. Please send somebody over.”

“We normally don’t send somebody out if we think she’s with a parent—”

“Please,” I begged her, my voice cracking. “Luna is—she’s not supposed to be with her mother. She’s in danger. Please.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line before the woman spoke.

“I’m sending someone over right now, sir,” she said. “He should be there in twenty minutes.”

“Okay,” I said, though twenty minutes seemed like forever to me. I wanted to get started looking for Luna now. “Okay.”

She hung up and I waited, unable to sit down or relax. The doorbell rang and I rushed over to see it was Ellie. I let her in, but when she tried to wrap her arms around me, I wouldn’t let her. I couldn’t stand the thought of being touched right then, even by Ellie. I was consumed with worry and fear in such a way that it felt like agony.

“Did you find anything out?”

“No,” I told her. “The cops are on their way.”

“Good,” she said. She reached for my hand and I let her take it, lacing our fingers as she pulled me over to the couch. “Sit down. Try to breathe.”

“How am I supposed to—I have no idea where my daughter is, Ellie,” I said to her. “How did I lose my own fucking kid?”

“You didn’t—”

There was another knock on the door that cut her off and I got up to answer it, seeing a cop on the other side. I invited him in and we all took a seat at the table. Ellie sat next to me but I scooted a couple of inches away from her, unable to stand the idea of her comfort when it would bring me absolutely nothing.

“So, your daughter is missing?” the cop asked, pulling out a notebook. “When was the last time you saw her?”

“This morning when I dropped her off at school. And listen, I know who she’s with—her mother, Maria Sanders. She’s an actress.”

“I’ve heard of Maria Sanders,” the man said, giving a low whistle. “That’s your wife?”

“Yes,” I said, gritting my teeth. “She took Luna from school. I know she did.”

“Are you still married to Maria?”

“Yes,” I told him. “We’re separated. She wants a divorce—she filed for sole custody of Luna and I’ve been talking to my lawyer about it. She must have just given up on the legal route and decided to take her.”

“Well, if you’re still married, and she’s still the child’s legal guardian—there’s not a lot we can do about it, sir. It’s up to the courts to make her bring your daughter back.”

“But I don’t even know where she is,” I said, the panic growing even more overwhelming. Ellie reached for my hand but I snatched it away, ignoring the pained look on her face that I could see out of the corner of my eye. “How am I supposed to take her to court? What do I do with Luna in the meantime?”

“That’s not for us to figure out, sir,” said the cop. He didn’t look sympathetic at all—he looked bored, and he had seemed more impressed by the fact I was married to Maria Sanders than concerned about the fact that my daughter was missing.

“Can’t you just look for her? Try to contact Maria?”

“We can try to contact her and set up mediation, if you want,” said the cop. “But I’m afraid that’s really all we can do without a court order.”

“Fuck,” I said, slamming my hand down on the table in frustration. I almost never felt angry or aggressive but in that moment I felt like I could rip somebody limb-from-limb in my rage. “You seriously can’t help me any more than that? Maria’s not going to respond to mediation.”

“I’m afraid that’s all we can do right now,” he repeated, standing up. “Give me her contact information and we’ll try to get hold of her. In the meantime, I recommend you get a court order, something that she has to obey.”

I clenched my jaw.

“Don’t go out looking for her yourself, sir,” the man said. “You’re only going to get yourself in trouble. Let us handle it. If you find her, call us. We’ll set up the mediation.”

I nodded, unable to say any other words. I watched as he left, silent with Ellie beside me.

“Lucas—”

“I’m going to look for her,” I said, grabbing my keys. “I’ll see you later.”

“But he said—”

“I don’t care what he said, Ellie,” I hissed. “I’m going to find my daughter, okay?”

“Okay,” she said in a small voice. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“I want to be alone,” I said and tried not to respond to the disappointed look on her face. I knew I wasn’t acting toward Ellie the way I should be given my feelings for her, but right now I was completely wrapped up in my worry and fear. “I’ll see you later.”

“Okay,” she repeated, and I followed her out the door. She disappeared into her apartment and I hurried downstairs, not even knowing where to start looking for Luna and Maria. I had no idea where Maria had been staying since I’d kicked her out and moved to the apartment, but I decided to try our old house—I hadn’t got around to trying to sell it and it was possible that Maria had been staying there since I’d left.

I sped my way back to the old house, not worrying about traffic or the speed limit. I swerved through lanes, heedless of the danger, thinking only of getting to Luna, of getting her back. I got to the house in record time and flew up to the door, pounding on it with my fist.

“Maria!” I shouted. “Open the fucking door.”

The door opened but instead of Maria, an older man answered. He had his arms crossed over his chest when he looked at me.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I’m looking for my wife, Maria Sanders. Have you seen her? Maybe with a little girl?”

“I haven’t seen nobody,” the man said. “I moved in here a couple weeks ago. Place was empty before.”

I cursed, turning around to go back to my car without another word. I buried my face in my hands for a moment, wondering what to do or where to go next. The only thing I knew was that I had to find Luna before it was too late.