His mind raced with endless possibilities, grasping for any harmless explanation. Maybe she’d gone to meet a work friend and lost track of time. Maybe a family emergency had popped up out of nowhere. Maybe she’d rushed off to help someone and her phone had died before she could send a quick text. Maybe this, maybe that.
But those hopeful maybes quickly tangled with far darker, more terrifying thoughts. What if she’d gotten into an accident? What if someone had followed her home? What if the missing passport had somehow landed her in some kind of unseen danger? Fear swelled up inside him, heavy and unrelenting, impossible to ignore or push away any longer.
