MasukThe phone is still pressed to my ear.The woman is still crying. Her sobs are raw, broken, like she's been holding them in for years. Like she's been carrying a weight that's finally too heavy. Like she's been waiting for this moment her whole life. Like she's been counting down to this call."Ava Thompson? Are you still there? Please tell me you're still there. I need to know you're hearing this.""Yes. I'm here. I'm listening. I'm not going anywhere. I've been waiting for this call my whole life. I've been waiting for answers.""I was there. The night your baby was born. I was the nurse on duty. I was the one who held him first. I was the one who saw everything."My legs give out. I sink onto the couch. My body feels like it's made of glass, like one wrong move and I'll shatter into a million pieces. My hands are shaking."You were there? You saw him? You held him?""Yes. I saw everything. I remember everything. I've never forgotten a single detail. Not his eyes. Not his cry. Not hi
The room was silent after the storm inside me finally settled.I sat curled against the couch, my hands wrapped around a mug of tea that had long since gone cold. I couldn't bring myself to drink it.Ethan remained beside me.He hadn't let go of my hand.Not once.Neither of us spoke for several minutes.Some silences were louder than words."I keep thinking..." I whispered.He looked at me immediately."What?"I swallowed hard."If I had left work earlier... or later... if I'd taken another road... if I'd stopped for coffee...""Ava.""If I'd done anything differently, maybe none of this would've happened."He shook his head."No.""You don't know that.""I do."His voice was calm."It wasn't your fault."I laughed bitterly."I was the one behind the wheel.""And someone drove straight into you."My fingers tightened around the mug."I remember the impact."His jaw clenched."I remember hearing glass shatter."His breathing slowed."I remember screaming for the baby before I blacked
The memory hits me without warning.I'm back in the car. The rain is pounding on the roof like fists, like the sky is trying to break through, like the world is trying to end. The wipers can't keep up. The headlights are blinding. The road is slick and unforgiving. My hands are gripping the steering wheel. My knuckles are white. My heart is racing. My breath is shallow. My mind is spinning. My soul is screaming. My body is frozen. My vision is blurring."Ava?"I blink. Ethan is in front of me. His hands are on my face. His eyes are searching mine. His voice is pulling me back from the edge, from the darkness, from the past, from the nightmare."Ava, where did you go? You were gone. You were somewhere else. You were lost. You were far away. You were drowning. You were dying. You were disappearing.""The accident," I whisper. "I was back there. I was in the car. I was reliving it. I was dying again. I was losing everything again. I was losing our baby again."He pulls me close. His arms
The truth of the accident still hangs in the air like smoke that won't clear.Ethan is still on his knees. His hands are still holding mine. His eyes are still wet. His face is still pale. His heart is still broken. His soul is still bleeding. His world is still spinning. His life is still unraveling. His hope is still flickering."I was pregnant," I say.He freezes. His whole body goes still. His breath catches. His heart stops. His world tilts. His life changes. His reality shifts. His eyes widen. His hands tremble."What? What did you say? What did you just say? Say it again. I need to hear it again. I need to make sure I heard you right. I need to be sure.""Before the accident. Before everything fell apart. Before I left. I was pregnant. I was going to tell you that night. I was going to tell you everything. I was going to give you the world."He stares at me. His face is white. His hands are shaking. His eyes are wide. His soul is shattered. His hope is dying. His heart is break
The afternoon sun streams through the window, but the room feels cold.Ethan is still holding me. His arms are still tight. His heart is still racing. His breath is shallow. His hands are shaking. His whole body is trembling. His soul is bleeding. His world is crumbling. His life is falling apart. His truth is pouring out."The truth hurts," he says."What truth? What are you talking about? What truth could possibly hurt more than everything we've already been through?""The truth about everything. About my father. About Vanessa. About the years we lost. About the accident. About the lies. About the betrayal. About the murder. About the man he really was. About the monster he hid from everyone."I pull back. Look at him. His eyes are dark. His face is pale. His jaw is tight. His hands are cold. His voice is breaking. His heart is exposed. His soul is naked. His mask is gone."Tell me. Tell me everything. Don't leave anything out. I need to know. I deserve to know. I've been in the dar
The morning after the revelation, Ethan is quiet.He sits at the kitchen table. His coffee is cold. He hasn't touched it. He hasn't moved. He's been staring at the same spot on the wall for an hour. His face is empty. His eyes are hollow. His soul is shattered. His heart is bleeding. His world is collapsing. His hope is fading. His spirit is crushed. His life is unraveling. His everything is falling apart. His mind is racing."Ethan?"He looks up. His eyes are hollow. His face is pale. His hands are still. His soul is broken. His heart is bleeding. His world is collapsing. His spirit is crushed. His life is falling apart. His everything is gone. His future is uncertain. His past is haunting him."I never loved her," he says."Who? Who are you talking about?""Vanessa. I never loved her. I thought I did. I thought I was moving on. I thought I was healing. I thought I was putting the pieces back together. I thought I was finally whole. I thought I was finally free. I thought I was final
Red.I stare at the dress hanging from my hotel closet.It's the same one from three years ago. The one he bought me. The one he tore off with his teeth."I can't wear this."My reflection doesn't answer.She just looks scared.I pull out my phone. Text Mason."This is insane.""Probably," he write
Three years. Two months. Fourteen days.That's how long I've been gone.The Seattle Blizzards' press room smells exactly the same. Ice. Sweat. Expensive cologne trying to cover both. The fluorescent lights buzz overhead like angry bees. Reporters crowd the wooden benches, laptops open, fingers read
The house in the hills smells like dust and forgotten things.Vanessa's mother's house. Old lace curtains. Yellowed photographs. A piano no one plays anymore."There's coffee in the kitchen," Vanessa says. "There's also a gun in the drawer next to the coffee. Don't touch it unless you need it."I s
The black SUV has been behind us for forty-seven miles.Same plates. Tinted windows. Always three car lengths back."You're sure it's Vanessa?" I ask.Mason's knuckles are white on the steering wheel. "I recognize the driver. He works for her father.""Her real father? The truck driver?""Her real







