The message came at exactly 11:477pm
I don’t think Daniel Carterwill ever forget that time,he was lying on his bed , not really sleeping , not really awake either. His room was quiet except for the small sound of his fan turning slowly above him. It was one of those nights where everything feels normal…until it suddenly isn’t.
His phone vibrated beside him. He ignored it at first, then it vibrated again, with a small sigh, he reached for it and looked at the screen .
“Emily HARPER”
He smiled a little when he saw her name. Emily had this habit of texting late at night. Random thoughts. Deep questions. Sometimes things that didn’t make sense until the next day.
He unlocked his phone and opened the message,and that was when the smile slowly disappeared from his face.
“If anything happens to me, it wasn’t an accident”
For a few seconds, Daniel just stared at the words. He blinked once,then twice, Maybe he read it wrong, he read it again, Still the same. His heart started beating faster, but he didn’t know why. Maybe because Emily wasn’t the type to send messages like that. She wasn’t dramatic. She didn’t joke about serious things. She chose her words carefully, which meant she meant this, He quickly typed back, “What do you mean”?
The message delivered.
Then it showed Seen.
She had read it.
Okay. Good. She was there, He waited for her reply, Nothing, “Maybe she was typing” he said to he said to himself, He kept staring at the screen.
Still nothing.
He typed again.
“Emily?”
No answer.
Now his chest felt tight, He pressed the call button,The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then it went to voicemail, Daniel sat up immediately.That wasn’t normal.Emily always answered his calls. Even if she was busy, she would at least text and say she’d call back.
He called again.
Voicemail.
Now he was fully awake. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to stay calm.“Relax,” he muttered to himself. “You’re overthinking.” But deep down, he knew he wasn’t. He looked at the message again, “If anything happens to me, it wasn’t an accident”.
The words felt heavier now. Like they meant more than they were saying.
He scrolled up through their earlier conversation. A few hours ago, everything was normal. She had asked him something strange though. “Do you think people can hide things forever?”
At the time, he didn’t think much of it. He told her no. That the truth always comes out. She never replied after that, He didn’t notice it then.
But now it felt important, Important in a way that made his stomach twist. He tried calling her again, Still nothing. The room suddenly felt too quiet.
Too still.
Daniel didn’t sleep that night. He kept his phone in his hand, staring at the screen, waiting for it to light up. Waiting for her name to appear again. Waiting for her to say it was a mistake. Waiting for her to say she was okay.
But morning came, and there was still no reply. By the time the sun rose, Daniel Carter had a feeling he couldn’t explain.
A feeling that something had already happened.
And he was too late,he just didn’t know how late,Because by morning, Emily Harper was gone and Daniel was the last person she ever sent a message