#cliffhanger

The envelope had no return address, just her name written in letters cut from magazines like something out of a bad thriller. Sarah nearly threw it away. Nearly.

Inside, a single photograph: her standing in front of the coffee shop yesterday, same red coat, same leather bag. In the corner, a timestamp. 11:47 AM. She remembered that moment—she'd been checking her phone, reading the text from Marcus saying he'd be late. Again.

But she didn't remember anyone taking her picture.

The diner's neon sign flickered—Mel's, Open 24/7—casting pink shadows across Emma's face as she pushed through the glass door. 3:47 AM. The same time she'd arrived every Thursday for the past six weeks, always to the same booth, always ordering black coffee she never drank.

"You're late," the man in the opposite booth said without looking up from his newspaper.

Emma slid into her seat. "Traffic."