Chapter 3 — Evelyn stares at the glowing unknown caller — Until she answers and hears only static and heavy breathing
Evelyn stared at the glowing unknown caller ID resting in her husband’s hand.
The room fell entirely silent except for Chloe’s quiet, muffled sniffles coming from the hardwood floor.
Caleb’s thumb hovered over the green accept button for a second before he swiped across the screen.
He pressed the speakerphone icon so Evelyn could hear every word.
He held the device out toward the center of the living room.
No voice spoke through the tiny speaker.
Only a steady, rhythmic stream of heavy breathing came through the audio channel.
Muffled background noise hummed faintly underneath the breathing, sounding like distant traffic and a low mechanical whir.
Evelyn took a slow step forward, her breath catching in her throat.
Who is this? she demanded, her voice shaking with a mixture of fear and anger.
The breathing on the other end did not pause or alter its tempo.
The person on the line simply listened, remaining completely silent while staying connected to the call.
Caleb frowned deeply and stepped closer to the coffee table, watching the call duration counter tick upward.
Zero-fourteen.
Zero-fifteen.
Zero-sixteen.
A faint click echoed through the speaker just as the call disconnected abruptly.
The screen reverted to the main display, instantly presenting a precise timestamp of the interaction alongside a local cell tower routing code.