35.

Ryan

I t takes three more weeks, but I find Aaron. Sure enough, he's one of the adopted kids. Despite knowing his birth name, his birth date, and his biological parents' names, both my private investigator and Alex's have trouble locating him. It's only when we're able to find a few random emails my mother had printed out from back in the day that we're able to piece everything together and find out who adopted Aaron and when.

And then we find out where he is, what his name is, and where he's been all of this time. As it turns out, Aaron ran away from his first foster home. Nobody looked for him. That was why Alex never received any updates. The city was trying to cover their asses. Aaron was raised in a nearby city by a family who, from the looks of things, seem to have really cared about him. They're one of the most prominent families in Kraken City, which means that Aaron was raised in luxury.

I'm the one who calls him.

Our conversation is brief and to the point, but he agrees to come to Siren City to meet up with Alex. I might have imagined it, but from the sound of his voice, I think he was filled with emotion. It's hard to tell, though. There's a lot I don't know about Aaron. There's a lot I don't know about the way my father's adoption scheme worked. What I do know is that I need to track down all of the lost kids. I need to do whatever it takes to find all of them, and I need to give them back their lives even if it just means sharing the truth.

When I tell Alex, she's thrilled, but nervous. We agree to meet Aaron at a bubble tea shop close to where Alex and Beatrice live. I come along for moral support but agree to stay in the background as much as possible so the two of them can talk.

We get there early, but when we arrive, Alex scans the room until she spots a guy sitting alone at one of the tables. He stands up immediately and comes toward her. He's tall – over six feet – and fit. Muscular. He's got a big build. My first thought is whether I should be lifting more. How much protein did this guy's new family give him?

When he reaches Alex, he doesn't even hesitate. He just pulls her into a hug.

"Hey, sis," he says. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too," Alex tells him. She doesn't cry. For some reason, I expected her to cry. She doesn't. Instead, she just hugs him tightly, yet politely. It doesn't feel like a very personal hug, which is fine. They haven't seen each other in a long time.

They pull apart, and Aaron looks at me.

"I'm Flynn," he says, holding out his hand to shake. Then he pauses, "Or, I guess, Aaron, I should say." He shakes his head as we shake hands. "It's been so long since I've been called that."

"I understand. It must be weird."

"You have no idea," he says. We don't hug, and I gesture to the table he was sitting at. His tea is still there.

"Shall we sit? I'll grab us some drinks," I say to Alex. The two of them head over to the table and I order a couple of brown sugar bubble teas. I wait at the counter as they're made so I can give Alex and Ryan a few more minutes alone.

When I reach the table, Alex is already diving deep into their sibling lore. I sit down quietly and slide her a drink. Our knees touch under the table, and she automatically reaches for my thigh, gripping it.

"Why didn't you look for me?" Alex asks. "I tried to stay so available. I never left Siren City."

"Honestly, everyone told me you didn't want to see me. One of the social workers who came to the house told me that it was best if I never reached out to you again. They told me you were mad at me for getting us separated."

"That wasn't your fault," she says. "That was our stepdad's fault."

"At least it wasn't our real dad," Aaron says.

"Right. I miss him a lot. Did you ever think of him?"

"All the time," Aaron says. "Going on family vacations, spending time playing catch in the yard...I missed it all."

"One of my favorite memories is just watching you and Dad play video games together," Alex says. "Your favorite was always this racing game. He always beat you, but you wanted to win."

"I practiced every day," Aaron agrees. He laughs, throwing his head back. "I'm pretty good at gaming now, if I do say so myself."

"I'm sure you are," Alex says. She sips her drink. "So, what do you do now? Tell me all about yourself. I mean...we have so much catching up to do."

Aaron fills us in on his life. He's got a wife now. The two of them work for his parents' company. They're trying for a baby. They're happy. They stay out of the spotlight as much as possible, which is easy because his mom is a media whore. His words.

He asks about Alex, and she reaches for my hand.

"I'm happy," she tells him.

Happy.

There were so many times before I met her that I would describe myself as successful. I would use words like "strategic" or "a shark." Now, though, I like the idea of being happy.

I like that this is the word she's chosen, and I agree with it.

I do feel happy.

And somehow, seeing Aaron is healing to me, too. It's freeing knowing that after all of this time, Alex finally has answers.

"I should get going," Aaron finally says. He stands and offers us each a hug. When he leaves, Alex watches until he's out of sight.

"How does it feel?" I ask her. "All of this time, you finally got to see him." I wonder if it's overwhelming to her. She still hasn't cried. For some reason, I really thought she would. Then, she looks over at me.

"Ryan, that wasn't my brother."

"What?"

"I don't know who that was or who sent him, but it wasn't Aaron."

"Um, explain. We just went through this whole song and dance. What about the childhood memories?"

"I lied," she said. "Fake Aaron brought up the idea of family vacations. We never had those. He never played catch with dad because we lived in an apartment and didn't have a yard. And the video game thing? We didn't have a television. That guy might know about Aaron, but he's not Aaron."

Her brother is still missing.

"I'm going to help you," I promise her. "I'll tear the world apart."

"I know you will."

I pull her into my arms. Devastation washes over me as I realize that I failed to do the one thing she needed. She needed me to find Aaron, and I didn't. I uncovered something deeper and more terrifying than I could have possibly imagined, and now I'm faced with an even harder question.

If that wasn't Aaron, then who was it?

And why?