Chapter 114

All afternoon, Alice had been wrapping up her tasks, waiting for her replacement from the company to arrive. At exactly six, she clocked out and left the office. It was late autumn, the start of winter—days short, nights long. By the time she got home, it was already pitch-dark outside. She didn’t bother turning on the lights. Just dropped herself onto the couch, curling up against the cold silence like she could disappear into the dark. She sat there, hugging her knees for over an hour, completely still, until her legs started prickling with pins and needles. That’s when she shifted positions at last. Her phone lit up. Junk text. She dismissed it and mindlessly tapped into her Facebook, scrolling with no aim. Then her finger paused. A post from half an hour ago—Jessica Lane drinking at a bar. She hesitated, then hit the call button. “Where are you?” The call connected. Loud background noise flooded through. Jessica shouted back, “At Drunk Heart bar! What’s up?” Alice blinked slowly, v