ETHAN'S POV

“She was what?” I muttered under my breath, my voice barely rising above a whisper, yet heavy enough to echo against the dining room. The words on my phone screen blurred for a moment as my pulse quickened, my vision tightening as though the walls themselves were closing in on me.

Without thinking, my fingers flew over the keypad. “Babe, what’s really happened? Where are you now?” I hit send, my thumb trembling slightly. But almost instantly, my heart sank when I saw her status — offline. I dialed her number, pressing the phone hard to my ear as if that would force it to connect. But all...