It said:
You both forgot something.
From the phone, Hannah whispered, “Trevor?”
I stared at the note.
Then at the rain-black window.
Then at the empty memory box.
And for the first time, I understood that the affair had not ended when Hannah left.
It had only changed shape.
Vanessa wasn’t chasing love anymore.
She was chasing revenge.
“Hannah,” I said, my voice barely human, “take Grace and drive. Now.”
A beat of silence.
Then Hannah said, “There’s someone outside.”
Part Final
The rain hammered against the windows.
“There’s someone outside.”
Hannah’s whisper nearly disappeared beneath the storm.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
“Lock the doors,” I said. “Now.”
“I already did.”
“Where are the police?”
“Ten minutes away.”
Ten minutes.
It sounded like forever.
I could hear Grace crying harder now.
The sound ripped through me.
“Hannah, listen carefully. Take Grace and go to the safest room in the house. Somewhere with one entrance. Stay there until the police arrive.”
Silence.
Then:
“She’s at the front door.”
Every muscle in my body tightened.
“Who?”
But I already knew.
Vanessa.
A sharp knock echoed through Hannah’s phone.
Then another.
Then another.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Almost playful.
“Hannah?”
“I can see her through the window.”
My stomach twisted.
“What is she doing?”
“She’s smiling.”
For a moment neither of us spoke.
Then Hannah whispered something I never expected to hear.
“She looks crazy, Trevor.”
The next few minutes felt endless.
I stayed on the line while Hannah carried Grace into a back bedroom.
The knocking continued.
Sometimes loud.
Sometimes soft.
Like Vanessa was enjoying the fear.
Then suddenly it stopped.
Complete silence.
“Do you still see her?” I asked.
“No.”
