The Goodbye Message

Detective Neil Carter parked outside the small suburban house, the November air crisp against his skin. The missing person report had come in that morning—Lisa Graves, 32 years old, last seen leaving her home the night before.

Her fiancé, Mark Reynolds, was waiting inside, his leg bouncing as he clutched a half-drunk cup of coffee.

“She just… left,” Mark said, voice strained. “No warning, no fight. I woke up and she was gone.”

Neil flipped open his notepad. “She take anything with her? Wallet, phone, clothes?”

Mark shook his head. “No. Her keys were still on the counter. Her car’s outside. Her phone was on the nightstand.”

Neil glanced at the unlocked phone sitting on the coffee table. “Mind if I take a look?”

Mark hesitated, then nodded. “Go ahead.”

Neil scrolled through Lisa’s messages. Most were mundane. A few unread texts from coworkers. A missed call from her sister. Then, one message sent at 2:14 AM.

To Mark.

“I love you. I’m sorry.”

Neil looked up. “You didn’t see this?”

Mark frowned and grabbed his phone. “I—no, I swear. It never came through.”

Something about that unsettled Neil. He checked the signal strength. Full bars. No reason for a delay.

“Was Lisa acting strange recently? Stressed? Anxious?”

Mark rubbed his face. “She was… distant. Like she had something on her mind but wouldn’t say. I thought maybe work was getting to her.”

“Was she depressed?”

“No,” Mark said quickly. Then, quieter, “At least, I don’t think so.”

Neil’s radio crackled. “Detective? We found something.”

Mark looked up, panic flashing in his eyes. “Is she—?”

“Not yet,” Neil said. “Stay here.”

He drove two miles outside of town to the discovery site. Lisa’s footprints led from a gas station parking lot to the edge of a wooded area.

A security camera had captured her arrival.

Neil watched the grainy footage. Lisa pulled up, got out of the car, and just… stood there. Not looking around. Not checking her phone.

Just staring into the darkness beyond the trees.

Then, at exactly 2:14 AM—the same time she sent the text—she started walking. Slowly. Deliberately. As if she knew where she was going.

She never came back.

Neil felt a cold weight settle in his stomach. He played the footage again. Then he noticed something.

Lisa wasn’t alone.

Just before she turned toward the woods, her head tilted slightly. As if someone had whispered in her ear.

But there was no one there.

Neil rewound and watched frame by frame.

Then he saw it.

A shadow. Not fully formed, but there. Flickering just behind Lisa for a fraction of a second before she started walking.

His radio buzzed again.

“Detective? We found something else.” A pause. “It’s a phone. Lisa’s phone.”

Neil’s blood ran cold.

“But it’s not in the woods. It’s back at her house. Sitting on the nightstand. Just like Mark said.”

Lisa had never taken her phone with her.

So who sent the message?

And where was Lisa?

Where Where?