Anna sat curled on the edge of her bed, her knees pulled tight to her chest, her phone clutched like a lifeline that kept slipping through her fingers. The screen mocked her with silence—no calls, no texts, no messages from Raya. It had been days since her best friend vanished, and the silence was eating her alive.
Where was she?
Was she still alive?
Was she sold?
Or had those loan sharks dragged her into some filthy corner of the world to repay debts with her body?
The thought struck like a knife, and Anna's throat closed up. She pressed her palms to her face, but the tears slipped through anyway. The images wouldn't stop—Raya crying, screaming, broken. Anna shook her head violently as though she could erase them, but her imagination was crueler than any nightmare.
"God, Raya… where are you?" she whispered into the emptiness.
