Inside the shopping mall, Nico happily devoured his ice cream while I barely touched mine, my gaze flicking constantly to the windows, to the parking lot outside. Nothing. No sign of the car. No sign of danger. And yet…
That night, after I tucked Nico into bed and double-checked the locks, I sat on the couch with the TV on low, pretending to watch. My phone lay on the coffee table. Silent.
Until it wasn’t.
The vibration rattled against the wood, startling me. I snatched it up, expecting—dreading—Adrian. Or maybe Chris.
But when I saw the name on the screen, my blood ran cold.
Nicolas.
My throat tightened. My vision blurred. For a heartbeat, I couldn’t even breathe. My thumb hovered over the screen, frozen, before I finally opened the message.
"Welcome back."
That was all. Two words
