Vanessa: Had such a fun day, babe. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Don’t forget the cologne I like.
He stared at the message until the letters blurred. It looked obscene now, like graffiti on a gravestone.
He tried calling Maya immediately.
Disconnected.
He tried her sister’s number, the one she’d dialed on speaker while folding laundry when they used to talk about Christmas plans.
Straight to voicemail. But it wasn’t the same voicemail greeting. It was a generic automated message, the voice of someone who’d changed their number for a reason.
He called Maya’s parents.
A man answered, someone Ethan didn’t recognize.
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