Gilded Apples; Chapter 7

-Chase's POV-

Her brother continues smiling until she slips from the room. I don't miss the glare he shoots my way before rejoining the crowd.

Well. That had been entirely. . . stupid. What had I been thinking? Bringing up Eira Blanc? And like that too?

I know exactly what John would have said if he'd seen that. Smooth move, genius. Smooth indeed. I couldn't blame her for taking the first out of that conversation. It basically sounded like I was inadvertently saying she was Eira Blanc and the Farleys had been the ones to kidnap her. Just the thought of all that is preposterous. Sure, the Farleys were eccentric, but kidnapping? They weren't criminals.

It was a completely preposterous idea, completely illogical. So what? They shared a striking resemblance and name. That didn't prove anything. It was just an odd coincidence.

Yet that look she had after I brought up Eira Blanc. It had almost looked like recognition or realization. . .

I shake my head. No. I was reading into it too much.

She was probably familiar with the story of Eira Blanc. I'm sure the entire Farley family was all too familiar with it. That's probably why she had become so uncomfortable. How many times had they had to deal with someone thinking she was Blanc, not Farley? How many times had they probably heard jokes from friends about it?

Yet, I can't get it out of my head. The way she tilted her head and smiled during dinner while chatting with the woman next to her, just like the Eira I had known. Even her voice stirred those memories.

I know it's not possible and yet. . . If only.

By the time we get home, it's well after midnight. I should go to bed, but instead, I find myself turning my laptop on. Opening a web browser, I go to a search engine. A name gets typed out and before I can rethink it, I've hit enter. I'm greeted with the same results as always.

The End of the Blancs. Missing Child Case Grows Colder. Step-mother Pleads for Child's Safe Return. The Blanc Era: A Family's Rise and Demise.

And an endless stream of other headlines and articles all detailing what had come to be called the Blanc Family Tragedy Trifecta. First, Tatiana Blanc fell ill and died. Then, in barely the breath of a year, Merlin Blanc remarries and dies in a car crash. And finally, their daughter Eira Blanc goes missing and is later presumed dead.

I try not to focus on the picture on the right side of the screen. It's the same one as always and it's just how I remember her: wavy black hair, bright, soft brown eyes, and a warm smile.

Just like Eira Farley, the thought comes unbidden.

I try to shake it, but I can't.

Back to the search bar. Double-click, change the last name, and enter.

Charities You Didn't Realize Were Run by the Farley Family. Another Farley Claims Individual Fame. Who's Who of the Farley Bunch. Detective Farley's Case History. Farley Closes Case and Goes on the Town to Celebrate. The Farley Conspiracy.

Farley, Farley, Farley, but none the right one. Who's Who it is.

At the top of the page, a picture of the Farley Family. Beneath the picture, the names of each of them are listed below in hyperlinks. Perfect. Eira.

The page drops. Eira Farley. One simple block of text. Youngest and only daughter. Currently attending Vanderbond Academy. Nothing of note.

Nothing of note?

I scroll back up. All her brothers have blocks of text. Even her parents have so much more than her.

I scan over her brothers again. No, they had so much more in their early childhood sections.

Someone had been obsessed enough with the Farleys to make a page dedicated to them, but lost interest at Eira? Everything else was current. Why was her section so blank?

So weirdos like me can't stalk her online. No doubt a necessary precaution considering what happened to Eira Blanc. Last thing they probably wanted was some nut case nonsensically obsessing over a nonexistent link. And they probably also wanted her life to be private. A reasonable thing to do.

I still can't help but feel like there should be more. She was the daughter in a prominent public family. Publicity was unavoidable, even in passing. There were hardly even any photos of her. As if her existence had been scrubbed or intentionally hidden from the public eye.

That logic doesn't stop me from going back to the search page and clicking on The Farley Conspiracy. It doesn't take long to realize what a waste of time this was. It had nothing to do with Eira, just the Farleys in general, specifically Adel Farley and her side of the family. The whole article is nearly laughable. Whoever wrote this would seem to think that Adel, the benevolent heiress of Clyruble had direct ties to the mafia. They would also have the reader believe that the whole family was involved.

Yeah. That made total sense. Because a doctor, detective, P.I., and lawyer would all totally be involved in the mafia. They were all too public. Someone would notice something. I key my way back to the Who's Who page.

I tap my keyboard for a second before grabbing my phone. If there was anything to be found, John had all sorts of wild luck online. Besides, he'd like a challenge. As expected, it's not hard to get him on board. This would combine his two favorite things: sleuthing online and girls. He's agreed to help in a matter of texts.

Now I just had to sit and wait.

Then she's back in my mind again, unexpected and unbidden. Staring at me curiously. Staring at me in shock and surprise. Her obvious relief at her brother's appearance. Her brothers.

I look at my laptop's screen again. A doctor, a detective, a P.I., a lawyer in a prominent family with ties to the mafia, with a sister that wasn't their actual sister but actually a missing child from only what was probably the most prominent missing person's case of the last decade. It sounded like the setup of some terrible joke.

And here I was trying to dig up dirt on one of them. I was acting like one of the psychos they were defiantly trying to avoid.

Yeah, I needed to get some sleep.