I unlocked my car and sat in the driver’s seat, staring at the dashboard clock.

Eleven fifty-five.

My phone vibrated in my purse.

I pulled it out, expecting another angry text from my mother, or a formal notification from the bank.

Instead, it was a text from an unknown number.

*I am parked around the corner on 18th Street,* the message read. *Please come alone.*

I stared at the screen, my heart beating a little faster against my ribs.

I put the key in the ignition but didn’t turn it.

I looked out the window into the dark, foggy street, trying to see if there was anyone waiting in the shadows.

The phone lit up again with a second message from the same number.

*It is your father. I have something of yours.*

I opened the car door and stepped out into the cold night.

The fog clung to my hair as I walked toward the corner.

I walked toward the corner of 18th Street, my boots clicking against the damp pavement.

The headlights of a dark sedan flickered once in the mist.