The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Monica went from eagerly excited to completely uninterested, her face showing nothing but disappointment.

Anastasia and Salma shared a look that said it all. If Jason didn't make it today, Monica would be left feeling uneasy, like there was something unresolved.

Anastasia suggested, "Why don't you give Jason a call? Maybe he got caught up with work unexpectedly. You know how his job is; duty calls at the most inconvenient times."

Feeling stubborn, Monica replied, "I don't care if he shows up or not. Come on, Pattie, let's go fly some kites at the park."

Anastasia nudged Pattie to help cheer Monica up.

Meanwhile, Emmie and Nancy were already snoozing in their strollers. Anastasia asked Salma to keep an eye on them while she tried reaching Jason herself. She couldn't let a misunderstanding get in the way of Monica and Jason.

Communication is key, and not talking things out only wastes precious time.

Anastasia called Jason twice. The first time, there was no answer. The second time, he finally picked up, sounding a bit out of breath. "Anastasia, what's up?" "Where are you? You were supposed to meet Monica to see the cherry blossoms. We've been waiting at Cherry Hill for hours. What's going on?"

Jason was still at Alisa's place, having just come up the stairs. He apologized, "Anastasia, I can't make it today. Could you please explain to Monica? I'll make it up to her later."

"What happened?" Anastasia was curious. Jason had planned this outing with Monica, and even if something came up, he usually managed to reschedule.

He hesitated, "Isla is missing."

Anastasia understood right away. Jason was wrapped up in something with Alisa.

"Jason," she said firmly, "women don't like being left in limbo. If you're serious about Monica, you need to sort things out with Alisa. End it cleanly. If you can't do that, leave Monica alone. Your indecision is just going to hurt everyone involved." Jason had always struggled with making decisions when it came to relationships. "I get it, Anastasia," he replied. "Please, just keep Monica calm for now. I'll talk to her later." He was in a rush because Isla's disappearance was a complicated issue.

Isla was the daughter of an old friend, and as a police officer, Jason felt he had to help. She'd gone missing on her way to school that morning. Alisa had dropped her off across the street, but Isla never made it inside.

Alisa had been rushing to work, and it wasn't until ten when the teacher called to say Isla hadn't shown up, that she realized something was wrong.

Alisa was terrified. She'd been hassled by debt collectors recently, so parangid that she'd disconnected

her home phone to keep from

finding out. Just yesterday, someone had painted "Pay

red on her front door.

She'd scrubbed it off before Daniel saw it. Now with Isla missing, she was petrified that the debt collectors might have harmed her daughter. But she was too scared to tell Jason the whole truth.

Jason checked the time. Isla had been missing for ten hours. They'd searched everywhere, checked all the surveillance cameras, but there was no sign of her.

Unless Isla never went to school in the first place.noveldrama

Alisa, worried, asked, "Jason, what if something's happened to her? It's getting dark. What are we going to do? She's the only grandchild for the Brown family. If anything happens, her grandparents will be devastated."

"Don't worry, just hang in there," Jason reassured her. "Other officers are searching too. Does Isla have any close friends she might be with, or has she been acting differently lately?"

"She has a few friends in the

neighborhood, but nothing unusual. Isla is a good kid," Alisa insisted.

Just then, Daniel came out of his et

room@nd said, "I've seen a shady-looking guy hanging around our street a few times recently. Bet he's a child trafficker, scoping out the area and snatched Isla. Jason,

you have to find her. She's the

Browns' only grandchild."

"Uncle, don't worry. I'll do my best to find her." Jason asked, "Do you remember

what that man looked like? I'll get the department to sketch a composite."

Daniel thought back, "He was about five foot nine, long face, neither fat nor skinny, a bit dark-skinned, with a mole at the corner of his mouth. Just yesterday afternoon, someone scraped off the paint on our wall. I think it was a mark..."

With Daniel's description, Alisa grew more anxious. The debt collector matched

the description perfectly.

Jason said, "I'll go check out the marks on the wall."