We sat in silence for a long while, listening to the house breathe around us. Without Nova’s chatter, without the weight of everyday noise, the walls felt cavernous, the quiet oppressive.
Finally, he spoke, his voice low, rough. “We have to move.”
I blinked at him. “Now?”
“Not this second but do today. She gave us until midnight. That’s not the time to waste.”
My stomach twisted. “And if we fail before then? If we don’t get her back…” My voice cracked. “I can’t bury another person, Noah.”
His hand gripped mine, tight, steady. “We won’t. Do you hear me? We won’t.”
I wanted to believe him but the image of my mother’s body was still burned into my skull.
My eyes drifted to the coffee table. The stack of documents sat where we’d left them, their edges warped from the frantic way I’d han
