I stood alone in the hallway, the sound of the rain outside growing louder.

My phone wasn’t the only thing missing from our house.

My wedding album was gone, too.

And a box of baby clothes I had bought for Sam before he was born.

I walked back to the elevator, my hand trembling as I pressed the button.

In the reflection of the glass doors, I saw Melanie standing near the water fountain, watching me.

She looked like she wanted to speak, but she didn’t move.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime.

As I stepped inside, my phone—the spare one Leo had given me—buzzed in my pocket.

It was a text from an unknown number.

I opened it, my breath catching in my throat.

The screen showed a photo of a handwritten page.

The text was from a number I did not recognize.

I pinched the screen to zoom in on the cursive writing.

It was slanted, elegant, and entirely familiar.

My mother-in-law, Josephine, wrote with that exact blue ink.

“Grace is showing signs of instability,” the page began.