Elle's POVI was on the fourth stair from the top, in my socks, when I heard Osborne say the words."He's gone? What do you mean, gone?"It was past ten at night. I had come out for water and stopped when I heard his voice drifting from the study, low and clipped. I sat down on the stair and pulled my robe tight. I stayed there for ten minutes, because nobody in this house tells me anything anymore. Listening is the only way I find out."The cast was cut off," Osborne said. "Cut. Not removed by a nurse. And Caspian's sure?" A long pause. "No, don't call the police yet. Let me think."I put my hand over my mouth.Alex Hamilton had walked out of a hospital on a sprained leg and vanished. The man Caspian had been chasing was gone.By morning, the family had a story.I came down late and found them all at the table, and I could tell it had been agreed on before I walked in. Osborne sat at the head with a folder in front of him. Caspian stood by the window, leaning on the sill. Gerald sat
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