by Sam Vickery
Watching my beautiful rosy-cheeked baby Ava play in the sand, I can’t believe how much joy she’s brought me. I look at the gentle waves of the ocean sparkling in the sun. But when I turn back, Ava is gone…
Everyone rushes to the beach to help search for Ava, but there’s no trace of her anywhere nearby. My ex-husband Jimmy is just as terrified as I am. But I get an odd feeling from his new girlfriend, Leah. As she cradles my other two children, she doesn’t seem as panicked as Jimmy and me. How can she be so calm?
Then they show me footage of Ava on a bus, held tightly by an elderly woman who looks just like Leah’s mother. Leah couldn’t have anything to do with Ava’s disappearance, could she?
I’ve seen the way Leah clings tightly to Jimmy, how she has moulded herself into the perfect housewife, never letting him lift a finger and cooking my children’s favourite meals every day.
Then the police officer in charge fixes me with a cold stare as he asks me why I wasn’t paying attention to my daughter. Suggesting it’s my fault she’s gone… That my older two would be safer in Leah’s care.
Should I share my suspicions? What if the police are looking in the wrong place?
Time is running out to find Ava, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back, but are my accusations about to tear my whole family apart?