The morning came heavy, the kind that pressed against the chest before the sun even touched the blinds. Ava lay awake long before her alarm, the restless pulse of anxiety rattling through her bones. She hadn’t slept much after deleting Ethan’s voicemail, her mind replaying his words in the dark. Don’t make it worse for yourself. A warning. A threat. A promise.

The file folder sat on her nightstand, its edges sharp against the quiet of the room. Every time she looked at it, she felt the ...