The voicemail haunted me.
"I'm trying to fix this before it's too late."
What was "this"? What game was Ryker playing? Why now?
I spent the rest of the night wide awake, scrolling through old photos, trying to find cracks in the memories — signs I had ignored or painted pretty.
At 6 a.m., my phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number: Still wear your ring on a chain, don't you?
I froze.
No one knew that. Not even Riven.
It was something I started after Ryker vanished — a way to keep him close, yet out of sight. I'd never told anyone, never posted it.
Slowly, I reached for the chain around my neck.
The ring was there. Hidden beneath my oversized hoodie.
How did he know?
Riven knocked once before entering. His hair was a mess, and he looked like he hadn't slept either.
"We need to talk," he said.
I pocketed the phone and nodded. "About the voicemail?"
His eyes narrowed. "You got one too?"
He played his for me.
Ryker's voice again. Same distortion. Different warning.
"She doesn't remember yet. Don't push her."
Riven rubbed his temples. "What are you supposed to remember?"
My mind flashed to something I hadn't thought about in years.
A summer night. A bonfire. Music in the background. Ryker, holding a camera, laughing as I spun in circles barefoot on the grass.
We'd snuck away from his family's lakehouse and spent the entire weekend pretending we were the only two people on earth.
I remember his promise.
"If anything ever happens to me, look under the third floor step. That's where I keep my truths."
At the time, I'd thought he was being poetic. Dramatic, even.
But now?
Maybe he meant it.
"I need to go somewhere," I said, standing up.
Riven followed me. "Where?"
"Ryker's old lakehouse."
He blinked. "That place hasn't been touched since—"
"Exactly."
---
We reached the lakehouse by noon. It stood like a forgotten shrine to happier days, surrounded by whispering trees and silence.
Dust coated the windows, and spiderwebs claimed the corners of the porch.
But the key was still hidden under the cracked flowerpot.
I stepped inside, heart in my throat.
Everything was frozen in time — our beach towels still folded over the couch, my favorite mug still in the sink. The air smelled like pine and dust.
I went straight to the staircase.
Third floor. Third step.
I knelt down and felt beneath the wooden plank.
Something tapped against my fingers.
A small metal box, barely the size of a wallet.
Inside, there was a flash drive.
I looked at Riven.
He nodded once.
We plugged it into the old laptop in the study.
The screen blinked to life.
One video file.
"Play Me If I'm Gone"
My hand trembled as I clicked.
Ryker's face appeared, dimly lit by candlelight. His eyes were tired. He looked... older. More fragile.
"If you're watching this, then I'm either dead or missing. Or worse, someone made me disappear."
He swallowed.
"Elara, if it's you, I'm sorry. I never wanted you involved in this. But you were the only person I could ever trust... even if I failed to deserve you."
He reached out, as if touching the screen.
"I found something. About my uncle. About our company. About secrets that could destroy families — maybe even get people killed. I was stupid enough to dig. Now I can't undo what I saw."
He leaned closer.
"They want to control more than just money. They're laundering funds, manipulating political figures, hiding technology that could ruin reputations. And Riven… he's clean, but he doesn't know the whole story. He's just another heir they're grooming."
Riven stiffened beside me.
Ryker continued, "If I disappear, it's because I was close to exposing them. Don't let them use you. Don't let him use you, no matter how charming he seems. And Elara…"
His voice cracked.
"I loved you. In my own messed-up way. I never stopped."
The video ended.
Silence.
I sat frozen, hands clenching the edge of the desk.
"Do you believe him?" I finally asked.
Riven was pale. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
"But you knew something was off, right? That's why you married me."
He hesitated. "At first, yes. I thought I could protect you. Then I started falling for you… and I forgot why I started."
My breath caught.
But before I could respond, my phone buzzed again.
A photo this time.
A screenshot from the cabin's security camera.
Riven and I, standing in the study.
Unknown Number: Told you I'm watching. Don't forget what he took from you.
Another buzz.
Unknown Number: The truth isn't in that flash drive. It's in your memory. Start with the night you woke up with blood on your hands.
My vision blurred.
That night.
I had buried it so deep I thought it was a dream.
But it wasn't.
And if Ryker was right… I had seen something I wasn't supposed to.
And maybe I was the reason he vanished.