I came here with one goal. Find Liam. Take him back. Make Ethan pay.
But New York is massive, and Ethan is nowhere to be found. I try everything. I go to his old office, only to find out he resigned. I visit places I think he might be, hoping I’ll run into him. I even call every single contact I have, but no one knows where he went. Or maybe they do. They just won’t tell me.
And then Ethan does the one thing that truly crushes me. He blocks me. No calls. No texts. No emails. Nothing. It’s like I never existed.
I sit in a cheap motel room, staring at my phone, my fingers trembling as I try to call him for the hundredth time.
"The number you have dialed is no longer in service."
I throw the phone against the wall. My chest heaves. My heart aches.
I lost my son. I lost my mother. I have nothing.
I don’t know how long I stay in that room. Maybe days. Maybe weeks. The money I brought with me is running out, but I don’t care. I don’t feel anything anymore.
Until I get the message that finally breaks me.
A video. From a number I don’t recognize.
I almost don’t open it—until I see the sender’s name.
Trisha Caldwell.
Ethan’s sister.
My blood runs cold.
I press play. The screen flickers, and then—
Liam.