Third person's POV
By Tuesday morning, Ethan had lost count of how many times he had called the number.
It had become a habit he couldn't seem to break. Every few minutes he would unlock his phone, scroll to the unfamiliar number, press the call button, and listen as it rang into silence. Sometimes it rang until the network disconnected. Sometimes it went straight to voicemail. The result was always the same.
No answer.
He had tried texting too.
Nothing.
The meeting had been supposed to happen on Friday . Instead, the caller had postponed it , promising to make contact again on Sunday . Two days had passed since then, and the silence was becoming unbearable.
Every hour without news gave his imagination another opportunity to betray him.
What if they had changed their minds?
What if Jade had become a liability?
What if the next phone call wasn't a negotiation at all?
