Chapter 37. The Unavoidable

Jacob

Joey’s plan was simple—brutally simple.

He couldn’t track the exact location, so he mapped every place his system failed to read. He marked out that dead zone—357 meters of nothingness—and in that blacked-out stretch, we had a chance of finding Evelyn.

I had Oliver with me—one of Joey’s sharpest minds—and Francesca. Joey split us into six teams, scouring the perimeters with agonizing precision. No leads yet, but we couldn’t rush. Any frantic move could spook Tyler. And if Tyler got spooked, Evelyn could disappear forever.

Then my phone rang.

An unknown number flashed across the screen. My heart flipped. Oliver’s eyes met mine—sharp, alert. He nodded once and instantly relayed the number to Joey. If there was even the smallest chance of a trace…we had to take it.

I answered.

“Jacob…” A voice. Her voice. Familiar. Fragile.

In an instant, years of torment bled out of my chest. It felt like oxygen flooding into lungs that had