And if she’d gone on foot… where would she run at this hour, terrified and alone? He stepped out onto the porch, breath fogging in the cool air. “Lara!” he called, voice cracking into the quiet street. Nothing answered him—not footsteps, not a shadow, not even the rustle of leaves. The silence felt too complete, as if she had vanished into it.
Back inside, the house felt foreign to him. Every familiar object stood exactly where it belonged, yet the absence of her presence made each room feel hollowed out. The glow of her phone on the counter felt like a strange accusation—proof she had left in fear, without time to think or breathe.