As they stepped outside, the hospital’s automatic doors hissed open. Morning light spilled in, too bright and clean for the hollow weight in his chest. Somewhere, in the endless unwatched corners of the city, Lina was moving farther away—and every question the police asked only seemed to spur on his worst fears.
The detective mentioned a home search—“Just in case she went there.” Irrational as it sounded, Ethan seized on the idea. Maybe she’d walked in, curled up on their bed. Maybe this was a mess the morning would wipe clean. He clung to that picture all the way home.