“My calls went straight to voicemail and she’s not answering texts.”He held her gaze, steady and honest.“We’re tracing her now.”
As if summoned, Anja appeared in the doorway, phone pressed to her ear, expression all business.She ended the call and looked at them both.
“Last ping on Danica’s phone was her apartment,” she said.“About two hours ago.”
Chloe was already standing.“Then we go there.”
They moved fast.The SUV felt smaller than it had earlier, the air inside swirling with dread Chloe couldn’t talk herself out of.Streetlights streaked past the windows as Kayne drove.Leo rode shotgun while Anja sat in the back with her, quiet and focused.Chloe hugged her arms around herself, heart thudding too loud to ignore.
Danica’s building loomed gray and ordinary against the night sky.Kayne parked and opened his door.“Stay close,” he said.
They climbed the stairs together.Chloe knocked first.
“Danica?”She tried again, louder.“It’s me.Open the door.”
Nothing.
Kayne knocked next.Harder.No answer.
Chloe’s pulse skidded.“She wouldn’t ignore me.”
Anja was already moving.She pulled a slim tool from the pocket of her cargo pants and went to work on the lock.It gave with a soft click almost immediately.
Chloe didn’t love how easy that had been.
The door swung open.On the surface, everything looked normal.Danica’s signature perfume hung in the air, an expensive floral that tried and failed to mask the stale undercurrent of fast food and neglect.The living room was cluttered with crumpled takeout bags, greasy wrappers, and half-read magazines scattered about.A lone stiletto lay on its side near the couch, its mate nowhere in sight.
Clothes were everywhere, draped over the back of a chair, and piled near the coffee table.A silk blouse, far too nice for the floor, was half-buried under a pair of leggings and a towel that looked as if it had missed laundry day by a week.
Danica had never been tidy.Chaos followed her effortlessly and unapologetically.But standing there now, Chloe felt a flicker of unease she couldn’t quite explain.This wasn’t a mess someone left when they were in a hurry.It was left behind when someone expected to come back.
“In here,” Anja called out from down the hall.
Chloe followed Kayne.They found Anja in the spare bedroom closet.Chloe stepped inside and froze.
All around were stacks of photos, dozens of screenshots from videos, magazine spreads, and social media posts.There were also candid shots taken from across streets, through windows, and from angles that made her skin prickle.In them, Chloe was smiling, teaching, and existing.A thick, uneven pile was shoved against the back wall.
Every single one was defaced.
Black marker slashed across her eyes.Red ink stabbed into her torso again and again.Words scrawled in furious handwriting.I hate you.This should have been mine.You ruined everything.
Chloe’s vision tunneled.“Oh, my God,” she breathed.“She absolutely despises me.”
Her knees wobbled, and Kayne’s hand came around her waist instantly, steadying her before she even realized she was falling.
Leo caught her elbow, his grip tight.“Jesus,” he breathed.
Anja moved through the apartment with grim efficiency, cataloging details aloud for the officers she was already calling in.Chloe barely heard her.
Leo cursed under his breath, muttering that he always knew she was trouble.
All Chloe could see was the proof of how deeply Danica’s resentment had curdled.Her bitterness, obsession, and hatred had honed into something unpredictable.The violence wasn’t random.It was precise.Personal.
“I never meant to cause her pain,” Chloe whispered, tears spilling now.“I never wanted her to feel like this.”
Kayne leaned down, his chin resting briefly against her hair.“This isn’t on you.”
“But she’s missing,” Chloe choked.“And she hates me.”
