I pulled it out and looked at the screen.

It was an unknown number, but a text message appeared on the lock screen.

*I know where you are, Emily. Come home.*

I looked up at Evelyn, my heart stopping as a heavy vehicle rumbled to a halt on the gravel road outside.

I held my breath and stared at the window.

The headlights of a dark sedan swept across the cracked plaster of the ceiling.

“Evelyn,” I whispered. “Is someone else expecting you?”

She shook her head slowly, her old fingers tightening around the edge of the ledger.

“No,” she said. “Nobody comes out here this late.”

The engine died, leaving only the ticking of a wall clock in the kitchen.

I looked down at the bracketed name on the yellowed page.

The neat, black ink spelled it out clearly: *D. Carter, Admin.*

My throat went dry.

“Daniel,” I murmured.

“He was a young man then,” Evelyn said, her voice dropping to a low hiss. “Fresh out of business school.”

“His father put him in charge of the facility’s ledger to prove himself.”