London · Shoreditch
February 4, 2025 — 03:20
The moment the call connected, Caroline’s voice sounded as lucid as if it were midday.
“Eva.”
Eva held the phone in her hand, sitting on the floor of the entryway. Her lips moved; the words I’m home had already risen to the tip of her tongue.
But she did not speak to them.
Because she suddenly remembered something—three years ago, Caroline had answered Claire’s call in exactly the same way. And afterward, Claire vanished. Liam’s fiancée became a missing person.
“Eva?” Caroline’s voice carried a trace of impatience.
“Nothing,” Eva said quietly. “Wrong number.”
She hung up.
The phone screen dimmed, and the entryway sank back into darkness. She remained there, her back pressed against the door, listening to the rhythm of her own heartbeat
