Alan
The streets blurred past me as I drove, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles ached. The city lights cast long shadows across the pavement, reflecting in my eyes like a reminder that she wasn’t anywhere in sight.
Cyril.
The thought of her being out there, alone and in danger, churned my stomach. My heart felt like it was clawing its way up my chest, every beat screaming that I had to find her—now.
I had searched everywhere I could think of: the office, the nearby streets, even the cabins where she sometimes went for lunch or breaks. Every familiar spot yielded nothing. My gut tightened with each empty doorway, each silent hallway. She wasn’t there.
I pulled into the next street, slowed, and scanned the sidewalks. Every shadow seemed alive. Every passerb
