Page 31

S loane and I hadn’t connected for a few nights, which made sense with everything going on. Due to her pregnancy and my own stress of the looming pandemic and constant presence of Angie, a distance formed between us, a lingering exhaustion that we couldn’t bridge.

It wasn’t just reality that wore me down; it was the nightmares.

Nightly nightmares that tore through me without mercy, and I was almost thankful I’d stayed in the guest room.

They came for me with relentless cruelty.

Each one left me gasping for air, my heart thundering against my chest, each one a smothering blanket when I'd wake.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Angie and Sloane's faces; the psycho's malignant smile and my wife's silent scream.

Sweat clung to my skin as I turned in bed, my body heavy with the weight of the night’s haunting images. I reached for my phone, the screen lighting up in the dark room.

Ten missed calls. My stomach dropped as I scrolled through the call log .

Better screenshot this, too. One more log to throw on Angie's pyre.

The case was moving forward, and I already had a mountain of evidence to bury Angie under. Every call, every message, every note she left behind was a twist of the noose tightening around her neck.

I clenched my jaw, anger simmering within me. The idea of her voice creeping into my life again, like some kind of infection, made my skin crawl. She thought she still had power over me. She thought she could still manipulate, control, or break me.

I had promised Sloane I would do this the right way and I meant it… otherwise that bitch would be in a concrete tomb.

Angie’s name flashed, the number I’d deliberately unblocked at the detective’s recommendation. I didn’t want to answer it, but I did.

The voice that wormed through sounded unhinged and calculating. “You really think you can fix this, baby?”

I'm not answering this crazy bitch.

I pressed record on my phone with the new app I'd installed.

She continued on unaware. “You don’t get it, baby. She’s not coming back to you. She won’t. You know why, right? You already lost her. And you… you’re mine always.” She let loose a low laugh, a sound I once thought was sultry and sexy.

Bile rose in my throat as she said, “You think you can fight this, but you can’t. You need me." She paused, breathing into the phone. "If you won't talk to me, then I'll go to Sloane.”

Her words sliced into me as Sloane's face flashed in my mind. I clenched my fists, the simmering anger rising to a boiling rage. "Leave Sloane out of this Angie. All of this needs to stop."

Her next words sounded amused. "Oh, Levi... I'm not going to stop." She was enjoying my discomfort, feeding on it. "I have been patient, you know. But you don’t seem to understand something, baby. You can't fix this. The damage is done."

I heard her breathing more heavily into the phone and I hoped that if I kept her talking for long enough she would say something incriminating, maybe threaten me or Sloane. Hell, she might be crazy enough to threaten my kids.

Come on you fucking psycho. Give me something more to send to the police.

She said, "And don’t think I don’t know what’s coming next, baby. The world is about to fall apart. Your precious little business, everything you’ve worked for? The pandemic is going to ruin you, ruin everything. It's going to be chaos, Levi."

My heart sank as panic twisted my insides.

Angie sounded more manic and crazed, her words coming out in a rush.

"I could destroy you. Everything you’ve worked for?

Everything you’ve rebuilt? All I have to do is tell Sloane everything about us.

Everything , Levi. Do you understand? And I will tell her.

Make no mistake, baby. You can’t outrun me. Not now. Not ever."

Then she hung up.

I didn’t feel the impact of the floor when I dropped to my knees. I was shaking, my entire body trembling as the rage, guilt, shame and helplessness consumed me.

There wasn't anything Angie could tell Sloane that I hadn't already told her, so her threats were hollow. But it was the venom in which she delivered them. The crazed hostility.

I can't let that psycho get anywhere near my Sloane.

I felt my resolve waver… but I stood up regardless, my palms slick with sweat. I pulled up the recording on my phone and sent it to the number the detective had given me. The weight of everything I was ca rrying felt crushing, but I focused on the evidence. It was all about the evidence now.

Angie had tipped her hand too much this time.

She was unraveling. I could practically see her deranged grin through the phone.

She would only be seen as a raving lunatic to the police, desperate and unhinged.

Between the photos I'd managed to snap of her appearing throughout my life and this recording, I had enough to expose her for the psycho she was.

The next day, the shutdown happened faster than I'd anticipated.

The news outlets had been buzzing for weeks, rumors of a viral outbreak in China, scattered reports of hospitals overwhelmed with the sick. But when the announcement finally came, it rushed through like a tidal wave. Everything shifted in an instant.

I was sitting in my truck outside the office when the alert came through. A breaking news banner flashing across my phone, the bright red letters leaping out at me.

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION.

I clicked the video, and my stomach twisted as the familiar face of the president appeared on the screen. He was flanked by experts, doctors, scientists, advisors, each of them with grim faces, holding back the severity of the situation as best they could. But their eyes told a different story.

The president spoke first, his voice steady but tense, laced with the weight of the moment.

“My fellow Americans. Today I am announcing the activation of a nationwide lockdown in response to the spread of a dangerous respiratory virus.

After consulting with our nation's top health experts, we have come to the difficult conclusion that these measures are necessary to protect our lives and the lives of our loved ones.”

Despite knowing this was coming, it still felt surreal.

“Starting tomorrow, all non-essential businesses will be closed. All public gatherings of more than ten people are now prohibited. Our health officials are strongly urging everyone to stay home. This virus spreads quickly, and the only way to mitigate its effects is through social distancing.”

The air in my truck felt suffocating as I processed the gravity of it. The incoming economic collapse, the forced isolation, and the immediate halt to everything that kept the world spinning. Then came the directive that made the entire situation real for me.

“Masks are recommended for anyone entering stores or public spaces. I cannot stress this enough: we are all in this together, and this is our chance to prevent a crisis from becoming a catastrophe.”

The man’s voice cracked as he said it. The shutdown wasn’t a temporary inconvenience: it was a total reset. A forced pause on everything we had known, everything we had taken for granted.

“Please,” the president added, “stay home as much as possible. For your safety and the safety of your loved ones, remain inside. We will get through this, but only if we act quickly and responsibly.”

I sat there for a long time, staring at the screen long after the address ended, the echo of his words lingering in my mind: stay home , wear masks , don’t go out unless necessary . I thought about Sloane, about the kids, and about the business.

The world was shutting down and no one had any idea how long it would last except me.

I forced myself to focus. Things were about to change. And they were about to change fast.