Chapter 1 Broken Routine

Maya Daniels climbed the stairs to her apartment, her heels tapping a weary rhythm against the cracked cement steps. The building, an aging structure on Ashmere Drive, groaned quietly under the weight of the evening breeze. Each step echoed in the narrow stairwell, bouncing off walls painted in a shade of gray that had seen better decades.

She paused on the second-floor landing, fishing through her oversized leather purse, the one expensive thing she'd kept from her old life. A tube of lipstick, receipts from the courthouse cafeteria, and finally her keys, tangled around a small stuffed elephant keychain that Anna, her daughter, had given her last Christmas. "Mom, this is my Christmas gift for you. Hope you'll take me to Santa?" Anna had said.

She glanced down at her wristwatch 8:15 PM. Earlier than usual.

"At least there's that," she murmured to herself, remembering the string of fourteen-hour days that had become her norm since opening her practice.

She paused outside her door, exhaling slowly. The air was thick with the scent of diesel fumes and something fried, probably Mrs. Foster's spring rolls again wafting from a neighbor's open window. A dull headache pulsed at her temples, the kind that came from squinting at legal documents under fluorescent lights all day, but she welcomed the silence of the corridor.

Finally. Home.

Since she'd left her high-paying but soul-numbing job at Herndon & Associates and launched her own modest law firm, "Daniels Legal Consult," life had shifted gears drastically. No more chauffeured commutes in the back of sleek cars, no more catered lunches with clients who treated her like decoration, no more red-lipped bosses like Patricia Herndon who stole her ideas in boardrooms and presented them as their own brilliant insights.

"We think it would be better coming from someone with more... gravitas," Patricia had said during Maya's last partnership review, her manicured fingers drumming against the mahogany table. "You understand."

Maya had understood perfectly. She'd understood that no matter how many cases she won, how many clients she brought in, how many late nights she sacrificed, she would always be seen as the young black woman who should be grateful for the opportunity.

Now, there were court documents spread across her tiny kitchen table, late-night dinners of whatever she could microwave in under three minutes, and the constant gnawing fear of failure. The kind of fear that woke her at 3 AM, calculating and recalculating her dwindling savings account. But freedom? Freedom was hers.

She smiled faintly as she fished for her keys in her purse, already imagining Anna's small feet padding across the floor to greet her, probably in those oversized bunny slippers she refused to take off, even in summer.

"Mom!" Anna would call out, launching herself into Maya's arms with the kind of uninhibited joy that made every sacrifice worthwhile. "Guess what happened at school today!"

Then her phone buzzed.

Another message.

She tapped the screen with her thumb, FLASH SALE: 50% OFF shoes and accessories. Today only! Your cart is waiting...

She rolled her eyes. That made it the tenth promotion today, maybe the fifteenth. She didn't even make the mistake of buying from online stores to avoid spamming her phone with notifications. But somehow she still managed to get them.

"Good grief," she muttered, swiping it away with more force than necessary.

Finally, she slipped the key into the lock and turned it. The bolt clicked, and she stepped inside.

Darkness.

Total, unsettling, unnatural darkness.

Her fingers froze on the doorknob, still clutching her keys. The elephant keychain dangled silently.

"Anna?" she called out, her voice carrying that sing-song quality she always used when she came home. "Honey pie? Mom's home!"

Silence.

Not the comfortable silence of a child absorbed in homework or television. This was different. Empty. Wrong.

She flipped the light switch beside the door.

Nothing happened.

No warm glow from the living room lamp with its faded yellow shade, no sound of the cartoons Anna usually played too loud on the living room TV, something with talking animals that Maya had learned to tune out, no scent of popcorn or microwaved leftovers lingering in the air.

Her heart skipped.

"Power outage," she whispered to herself, but even as she said it, she could see the digital clock on the microwave glowing green through the kitchen doorway. 8:18 PM.

She stepped further in, setting her purse on the small entry table with deliberate care, as if maintaining normalcy could somehow make this normal. The room was cold, too cold for July. She moved quickly to the window and yanked the curtains aside. Streetlight poured in, casting long shadows across the small apartment, illuminating the space in harsh, unfamiliar angles.

Anna's backpack wasn't by the door where it lived every school day, dropped carelessly beside the umbrella stand. Her pink lunchbox wasn't sitting on the kitchen counter as it usually was, waiting to be washed and refilled for tomorrow.

"Anna?" Maya's voice cracked slightly now. She stepped towards Anna's room, heart racing, each footfall on the cement floor seeming too loud in the silence. The door to Anna's room stood open, bed neatly made, untouched. Not a wrinkle. The pink comforter was pulled tight, hospital corners precise just as they'd left it in the morning.

Maya's hands trembled as she touched the bedspread. Still cool. Undisturbed.

Panic began to take root, spreading through her chest like ice water.

She yanked her phone out again and dialed the school number, her fingers fumbling over the familiar digits. But of course, it rang endlessly. No response. Then a recorded voice stating school hours were over.

"This is Maya Daniels," she said to the recording, her voice taking on the professional tone she used in court. "My daughter Anna Daniels is missing. She didn't come home from school today. Please call me back immediately." She rattled off her number twice, then hung up.

A sharp ache bloomed in her chest.

She pressed both palms to her temples, pacing in a tight circle in the living room. Her breathing had turned shallow, each inhale feeling insufficient.

"Think, Maya. Think." She spoke aloud, the sound of her own voice a small comfort in the empty apartment.

Anna's school, Willow Creek Elementary, was only a short drive from here, maybe twenty minutes in traffic. The school bus usually dropped Anna off by 4:30 PM, right at the bus stop on the corner of Ashmere Hollow. Anna would walk three blocks home, just like they'd practiced a dozen times.

She should have been home over three hours ago.

Maya moved back to the front door, biting her lip, staring at her contact list. The names blurred together: Dr. Gomez Anna's pediatrician, City Electric always calling about overdue bills, Pizza Palace Anna's favorite Friday night treat.

Who could she call?

No one.

Over the past eight years, she'd deliberately built a wall around herself and Anna, avoiding friends, neighbors, even family. Trust had become a luxury she couldn't afford, not after what happened with Trevon and Sharon. Trevon, who had promised to be there for her, wasn't ready for the responsibility involved in a relationship. And Sharon, whom Maya believed to be her friend, only turned out to be a betrayal.

How could she possibly turn to someone, foolishly believing in trust again?

Maya had walked away, believing she had no need to share her problems with anyone.

She didn't even know the names of most parents at Willow Creek.

Her thumb hovered over 911.

"Do I... call the police?" she whispered aloud.

A voice inside screamed yes, but another, calmer part urged patience. What if Anna had stayed back at school? Maybe she had a club meeting Maya forgot about. Or the bus broke down. Or the teacher kept her back.

"Maybe..." she said to herself. "Maybe she's just waiting."

Even as she said it, doubt chewed at her. Anna was responsible, mature for her eight years. She never deviated from routine without calling. She knew Maya worried.

But what if something had happened? What if someone had taken her? What if she was hurt, scared, calling for her mother?

Maya's hands shook as she grabbed her purse again.

She backed out of the apartment, slamming the door shut behind her, chest tight. The sound echoed in the stairwell, sharp and final.

She was already halfway down the stairs before she realized she was still clutching her phone like a lifeline, the screen lighting up again another useless promo notification.

But Maya didn't see it.

All she could see now was Anna's face, smiling, innocent, trusting. Those dark eyes that looked so much like Maya's own, full of questions and wonder and the absolute certainty that Mom would always keep her safe.

And possibly out there in the dark, waiting.