PART 3 – I Searched the Dark Water While the People Who Were Supposed to Help Me Kept Protecting My Brother

I came up coughing.

My arms were getting tired.

I looked toward the shore, trying to identify the exact place where Cassie had fallen.

Trey was standing beside the jet ski.

He had put her life jacket down on the dock.

I could see the orange material against the wooden boards.

That small object had become the only proof I had that my daughter had been with him.

I shouted again.

"Cassie!"

No answer.

I went under.

The water was green and dark.

My hands moved through it, but I couldn't see much beyond them.

I surfaced, gasping.

I called her name again.

Then I heard my father.

"Jill! Get back here!"

I turned toward him.

"Call somebody!"

He cupped his hands around his mouth.

"We're handling it!"

I looked at the people around him.

My mother.

Trey.

A few relatives.

Nobody was handling anything.

I was in the water searching for a seven-year-old girl while they stood on the dock discussing what to do.

I felt something inside me change.

Fear was still there.

But anger had joined it.

I swam toward the area Trey had pointed out.

The waves made it difficult to stay in one place.

Every passing boat disturbed the surface.

I tried to remember the exact position of the jet ski when Cassie fell.

I had seen it.

I had watched it happen.

But the moment was already becoming confused in my head.

I kept thinking about her pink swimsuit.

The way her little body had lifted off the back.

The way the jet ski continued forward.

I had seen my daughter fall.

I had also seen my brother keep driving.

Those were the facts.

Nothing my family said afterward could change them.

I reached the dock again, needing air.

My father leaned down.

"Get out."

I shook my head.

"Call emergency services."

He looked toward Trey.

Then back at me.

"Don't you dare call the police."

I stared at him.

For a second, I thought I had misunderstood.

"What?"

"Don't bring the police into this."

I felt my mouth fall open.

"My daughter is missing."

He lowered his voice.

"Your brother made a mistake."

I looked at Trey.

He wasn't even looking at me.

He was staring down at his hands.

I turned back to my father.

"A mistake?"

My father leaned closer.

"We can deal with this as a family."

That sentence stayed with me.

Not because it was comforting.

Because I finally understood what he meant.

He wanted to keep the family together by keeping the truth inside it.

He wanted me to protect the person who had put my daughter in danger.

I moved away from the dock.

I didn't answer him.

I had no intention of following his instructions.

But I still needed to find Cassie.

I pushed myself back into the water.

I searched the same area again.

My lungs burned.

My shoulders hurt.

I was beginning to panic in a way I had never experienced before.

I tried to control my breathing.

I thought about the lessons I had given Cassie.

I remembered her small voice repeating my instructions.

Hold on until Mommy gets there.

I kept telling myself she had heard me.

That she had found something.

That she was waiting.

I didn't know whether any of that was true.

I only knew I couldn't stop.

Then I heard a whistle.

A long, sharp sound came across the water.

I lifted my head.

Another whistle followed.

I turned toward it.

Farther out, someone was signaling.

I couldn't immediately tell who it was or what they had seen.

But for the first time since Cassie disappeared, someone else seemed to understand that something serious was happening.

I started moving in that direction.

My father shouted again.

I didn't turn around.

I was done waiting for my family to decide whether my daughter deserved help.

Click here to continue reading: PART 4: A Sharp Whistle Cut Across the Lake, and I Finally Stopped Waiting for My Family to Decide What Mattered