The Bond Between Us (Anastasia and Herman)

Sean recognized the shards of glass right away. He knew exactly what had been inside.

He wrapped the piece in a napkin, lifted it to his nose, and sniffed carefully. Just as he suspected: cyanide.

Sandy Morton had tried to poison Herman Salstrom. She wanted him dead. But really, would it have made a difference? To the world, Herman was already gone —either as good as dead or trapped in his own body, unable to speak. Even knowing the truth wouldn't change that.

Now, Herman had simply disappeared without a sound. No one even noticed.

Sean broke out in a cold sweat. A voice echoed in his mind: Herman can't die. If he does, Sandy will be charged with murder.

Whether or not anyone ever broke this secret open, it was a ticking time bomb. Panic surging, Sean raced out the door...

***

Jason and his partner, Hank, had spent the whole night canvassing every hotel within a two-mile radius. Only one was left-the Super 8.

Anastasia Jewell had just returned from Willowbrook, but instead of going home, she met up with Jason. Now the three of them stood together on Blossom Lane, right in the middle of Night Market Street. None of them had slept a wink.

But Anastasia didn't look tired at all. She was running on pure adrenaline, focused and determined. All she wanted was to find Herman.

Jason said, "Anastasia, let's check the Super 8. If we don't find anything, we should all get some rest. We've been at this all night."

"Let's go now," Anastasia replied immediately.

Truthfully, she only heard the first part. Rest? Not a chance. As long as there was even the tiniest clue about Herman, there was no way she could go home and wait. Maybe he was out there, looking for her too. She couldn't let him wait alone.

The three of them headed into the Super 8. Jason flashed his badge at the receptionist. "Police. We need to check your guest records. Is there a Herman staying here?"

The girl at the counter looked startled and called for the manager. This was way out of her league.

The manager came over and pulled up the guest list from the past few days. No Hermans.

Unwilling to give up, Anastasia scrolled through the records herself, checking even earlier dates. Still nothing.

Of course, Herman had checked in under the name George. There was no way his real name would appear.

Anastasia's heart sank. "How can he not be here? Where could he be?"

It felt like losing her entire world.

Jason tried to reassure her. "Anastasia, don't worry. If he's still in Riverdale, we'll find him."

Hank spoke up, "Why don't we go public? Anastasia, you could post a missing person alert online, get everyone in town to help out. But if Herman came back but didn't go

home, maybe he doesn't want to be

found. If he's hiding, we could

search all day and still come up empty."

Hank's words sparked an idea. "I'll

buy evernoveldrama

billboard in town,"

Anastasia said. "I'll put up ads

everywhere so he'll know I'mdooking for him. He'll come back."

Why look for a needle in a haystack when she could just become the lighthouse?

With her resources, buying up every LED ad in Riverdale was nothing.

She called her secretary. Within the hour, the city's biggest billboards all carried her missing person alert.

That's what money could do.

Bus stops, taxi ads, mall screens—even the radio-were all broadcasting her message.

Anastasia recorded a short video, her voice low and sincere: "Honey, I'm still waiting for you to come home. I know you're out there. I miss you so much. Please, come back."

Just one line, but it was packed with love.

People passing by the billboards stopped in their tracks, looking up.

A few months ago, Herman's disappearance was the talk of the city. Things had gone quiet since then, but now, Anastasia's campaign brought it all back, filling Riverdale with warmth and hope.

Some folks felt their eyes sting. Suddenly, they believed in love again.

The ads kept playing, burning through money-but burning even brighter with love.

At Salstrom Manor, Feiman and Katelyn Salstrom saw the news on TV, then stepped outside-everywhere they looked, there were missing person ads.

Anastasia had never given up on Herman.

Flynn Salstrom stood by his office window at Elysian Technologies, watching the ad scroll across the building across the street, feeling a rush of emotion.

"Herman, come home. Anastasia's been through enough," Flynn murmured, a little jealous that his cousin had someone who loved him so fiercely.

Monica Franco stepped out of the salon and stopped cold at the bus stop ad. Then she glanced up more missing person alerts on the mall's giant screen.

Monica shook her head in disbelief. "Ana's lost her mind."

She'd known Anastasia for years, but had never seen her do something this wild.

Those ads, playing for just one day, would cost millions-maybe tens of millions. But for love, Anastasia didn't care.