When he asked if she’d heard from Clara, Maya paused long enough for Adam’s nerves to prickle. “I’m…not really sure,” she said carefully. The vagueness felt wrong, like someone tiptoeing around a deeper truth. She followed up with, “I must be getting back to my kids, Adam.”
He pressed for details—had Clara mentioned plans, problems at work, anything unusual? Maya dodged almost every question, offering clipped responses that revealed nothing. She sounded uncomfortable, even anxious, as if she badly wanted the conversation to end.