Parents Weekend

Alex Finlay

Parents Weekend

Alex Finlay
55 pages1-hour read
Fiction
Novel
Adult
Published in 2025

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Character List

Meet the key characters, with insights into their roles, motivations, and relationships—spoiler-free.

Major Characters

Sarah is an FBI agent temporarily living in San Jose to help care for her ailing father-in-law. She brings sharp investigative instincts and a firm drive to protect the public to her new assignment. A devoted mother and wife, she frequently balances the intense, life-threatening demands of federal law enforcement with her deep family commitments.

Key Relationships

Wife of Bob Keller

Professional ally of Jay McCray

Mentor to Annie Hafeez

Subordinate to Richard Peters

Blane is a freshman at Santa Clara University pledging the Alpha Kappa fraternity. He survived a childhood abduction tied to his mother's high-profile government position, leaving him accustomed to strict personal security protocols. He often uses a casual, joking demeanor to deflect attention from his unusual upbringing.

Key Relationships

Son of Cynthia Roosevelt

Son of Hank Roosevelt

Friend of Mark Wong

Friend of Stella Maldonado

Friend of Libby Akana

Friend of Felix Goffman

Cynthia is a high-ranking official at the State Department who travels with an extensive protective detail due to international threats against her. She projects an image of strict professionalism and absolute control to mask her constant fears for her family's physical safety. Her demanding career creates heavy friction in her personal relationships.

Key Relationships

Mother of Blane Roosevelt

Ex-wife of Hank Roosevelt

Stella is a charismatic and confident freshman at Santa Clara University whose extroverted nature naturally draws others into her orbit. She possesses a rebellious streak, evidenced by a history of minor legal troubles. She holds deep-seated anger toward her father over his past actions and feels highly protective of her mother.

Key Relationships

Daughter of David Maldonado

Daughter of Nina Maldonado

Friend of Felix Goffman

Friend of Libby Akana

Friend of Natasha Belov

Friend of Blane Roosevelt

Friend of Mark Wong

David is a successful plastic surgeon whose marriage is suffering due to his history of extramarital affairs. He struggles with a constant need for external validation and feels immense guilt over the pain his actions cause his family. He attempts to project charm and confidence while managing the fallout of his personal mistakes.

Key Relationships

Husband of Nina Maldonado

Father of Stella Maldonado

Former romantic interest of Zoe Carpenter

Libby is a conscientious college freshman who strives for perfection to spare her parents further grief after the loss of her younger brother, Timmy. She is intensely loyal to her friends Stella and Felix but struggles with feelings of inadequacy, fearing her parents do not love her as much as her deceased sibling.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Ken Akana

Daughter of Amy Akana

Friend of Stella Maldonado

Friend of Felix Goffman

Friend of Blane Roosevelt

Friend of Mark Wong

Ken is the chief judge at the LA Superior Court, known professionally as "No Drama Akana." He relies on extreme emotional control to manage his grief over his son's death, which has created a severe communication breakdown in his marriage. His recent involvement in a high-profile celebrity trial makes him a target for public anger.

Key Relationships

Husband of Amy Akana

Father of Libby Akana

Amy is a former lawyer and Libby's mother. She experiences profound isolation in her marriage following her son's tragic death, an isolation that led her to seek connection elsewhere. She struggles to communicate with her stoic husband and maintain a supportive presence for her surviving daughter.

Key Relationships

Wife of Ken Akana

Mother of Libby Akana

Secretly connected to Bruce Lockwood

Felix is a quiet, gentle freshman attending Santa Clara University on a tuition waiver. He grew up as an outcast and feels out of place among the affluent students at the school. He values his capstone group deeply as his first true circle of friends and harbors a strong, unspoken crush on Stella.

Key Relationships

Son of Alice Goffman

Friend of Stella Maldonado

Friend of Libby Akana

Friend of Blane Roosevelt

Friend of Mark Wong

Alice is a single mother who stretches her limited budget to ensure her son can live in the dorms and have a normal college experience. She carries trauma from a past abusive relationship with Felix's father, making her fiercely protective of her son. She frequently experiences intense anxiety and panic attacks when his safety or reputation is threatened.

Key Relationships

Mother of Felix Goffman

Acquaintance of Jay McCray

Mark is a college freshman and fraternity pledge who uses humor and a class-clown persona to deflect attention from his family background. He craves peer acceptance and distances himself entirely from his estranged father, whose criminal past casts a shadow over Mark's own reputation on campus.

Key Relationships

Son of Andrew Wong

Friend of Blane Roosevelt

Friend of Stella Maldonado

Friend of Libby Akana

Friend of Felix Goffman

Natasha is a Santa Clara University student whose sudden disappearance and death set the central investigation in motion. Once an excellent student, her behavior recently shifted to heavy partying and skipping classes following a traumatic experience. She shares a complicated, secret connection to the capstone group students.

Key Relationships

Daughter of Ivan Belov

Daughter of Iza Belov

Friend of Stella Maldonado

Ivan is Natasha's grieving father. He demands answers from the university administration regarding his daughter's disappearance and searches desperately for anyone who might know what happened to her. His immense grief drives him to take extreme actions to seek justice.

Key Relationships

Husband of Iza Belov

Father of Natasha Belov

Iza is Natasha's mother, who shares her husband's intense distress over their daughter's disappearance. She pushes campus officials to take the situation seriously and partners with her husband in their aggressive pursuit of whoever is responsible for their daughter's fate.

Key Relationships

Wife of Ivan Belov

Mother of Natasha Belov

Jay is the chief of Campus Safety Services at Santa Clara University. He possesses a strong dedication to helping young people learn from their mistakes rather than merely punishing them. He works closely with federal authorities during the missing persons case, offering crucial local knowledge despite occasionally being undervalued by outside agencies.

Key Relationships

Professional ally of Sarah Keller

Acquaintance of Alice Goffman

Supporting Characters

Bob is Sarah's husband who brings his family back to his hometown in California to care for his dying father, Pops. He provides a stabilizing, positive force for their nine-year-old twins. His optimism and active support help Sarah manage the psychological toll of her dangerous work.

Key Relationships

Husband of Sarah Keller

Hank is Blane's father and Cynthia's ex-husband. He arrives unexpectedly at Santa Clara University during parents weekend despite a prior agreement to stay away. He struggles with recent professional failures and alcohol use but maintains a genuine desire to connect with his son.

Key Relationships

Father of Blane Roosevelt

Ex-husband of Cynthia Roosevelt

Nina is Stella's mother who harbors deep resentment toward her husband for his past infidelity. Her anger often manifests in unpredictable, self-destructive behavior in social settings. She relies heavily on her daughter for emotional support during periods of marital distress.

Key Relationships

Wife of David Maldonado

Mother of Stella Maldonado

Andrew is Mark's estranged father who spent ten years in prison for sexually assaulting teenage athletes he coached. His criminal past and public disgrace cast a long shadow over his son's life, creating severe social hurdles for Mark.

Key Relationships

Father of Mark Wong

Annie is a college junior interning with the campus police department. She provides the investigative team with essential knowledge about campus culture, social media apps, and student behavior. Her energetic, slightly tangential communication style masks incredibly sharp investigative instincts.

Key Relationships

Subordinate to Sarah Keller

Intern of Jay McCray

Jonathan is a professor at Santa Clara University who projects the image of a dedicated academic and family man. He recently faced an anonymous formal complaint from a student, which the university dismissed, but new online rumors threaten his professional reputation.

Key Relationships

Husband of Jill Turlington

Professor of Natasha Belov

Cody is a young man dealing with severe depression and trauma following his father's tragic death. He holds a deep grudge against David Maldonado and sketches disturbing images as an outlet for his emotional pain, making him a person of interest early in the investigation.

Key Relationships

Son of Zoe Carpenter

Enemy of David Maldonado

Bruce is a police officer who refuses to accept the end of a brief relationship. He exhibits possessive and stalking behaviors, using GPS trackers and physical intimidation to maintain proximity to his target while hiding behind his badge.

Key Relationships

Secretly connected to Amy Akana

Enemy of Ken Akana

Richard is the boss at the FBI's San Jose office who commands the local task force. He manages the complicated public relations aspect of the high-profile missing persons case while directing his agents' investigative priorities on the ground.

Key Relationships

Boss of Sarah Keller

Zoe is Cody's mother who works as an anesthesiologist. She worries deeply about her son's severe depression and tries to keep law enforcement informed of his movements when he suddenly goes missing.

Key Relationships

Mother of Cody Carpenter

Former romantic interest of David Maldonado

Jill is Professor Turlington's wife who defends her husband's character against anonymous online accusations. She relies on him heavily while managing the exhausting work of caring for their two infants.

Key Relationships