Leila’s heart pounded as she stared at the figure before her. She blinked, certain she was hallucinating from pain or exhaustion. But no—it was real.
Standing in front of her was Isabella, her closest friend from university, someone she hadn’t seen or heard from in over five years. Isabella’s disappearance had been sudden, leaving no trace behind. Leila had long assumed something terrible had happened to her, but now, here she was—alive and standing in the same room, looking both frantic and determined.
“What… how…?” Leila stammered, unable to make sense of what she was seeing.
Isabella quickly closed the door behind her, her eyes darting around the room as if she was expecting someone to follow. “There’s no time to explain everything right now,” she whispered urgently. “We need to get
