I HEARD HIM SAY " DADDY"
The message carried certainty.
I tried to type, tried to push back against the fear tightening my chest. I wanted to write: No, that’s not true. I’m right here. My fingers trembled. The words refused to form.
Then my eyes drifted to the television. It had been playing softly in the background, filling the room with low noise I hadn’t noticed until now. And suddenly, my attention sharpened. A face. A voice I knew too well.
It was Sam.
He looked older on the screen, lined from faking exhaustion or grief—I wasn’t sure which. His voice was steady, controlled, the kind that always managed to make people believe him, no matter what.