The scent of stale coffee and disinfectant. That' s how the world came back, as I slumped in a hard plastic chair at the police station. "Mr. Miller, we have no record of a child named Leo." Those words hung in the air, heavy and impossible. They said I' d gone to the kindergarten in a panic, claiming my child was missing, but the principal and teachers swore they' d never seen me with a child. My wife, Ava, arrived, confused and scared, denying we had a son. They showed me security footage: me, gesturing wildly at an empty space. My phone was empty too; all photos, all videos of Leo, gone. The crushing weight of their disbelief, the pity mixed with annoyance, made me feel like an insane man who had invented a son. Had I failed him? Had I let him disappear? Was I just crazy? The self-blame was suffocating. Then, I blinked. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, painting stripes across our familiar bedroom wall. The digital clock read 7:05 AM. It was the same day the nightmare began. I heard a child' s high-pitched giggle from the kitchen. It was Leo. Hope surged through me. A second chance. This time, I wouldn't fail.
The scent of stale coffee and disinfectant. That' s how the world came back, as I slumped in a hard plastic chair at the police station.
"Mr. Miller, we have no record of a child named Leo."
Those words hung in the air, heavy and impossible. They said I' d gone to the kindergarten in a panic, claiming my child was missing, but the principal and teachers swore they' d never seen me with a child. My wife, Ava, arrived, confused and scared, denying we had a son.
They showed me security footage: me, gesturing wildly at an empty space. My phone was empty too; all photos, all videos of Leo, gone. The crushing weight of their disbelief, the pity mixed with annoyance, made me feel like an insane man who had invented a son.
Had I failed him? Had I let him disappear? Was I just crazy? The self-blame was suffocating.
Then, I blinked. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, painting stripes across our familiar bedroom wall. The digital clock read 7:05 AM. It was the same day the nightmare began. I heard a child' s high-pitched giggle from the kitchen. It was Leo. Hope surged through me. A second chance. This time, I wouldn't fail.
Introduction
04/07/2025
Chapter 1
04/07/2025
Chapter 2
04/07/2025
Chapter 3
04/07/2025
Chapter 4
04/07/2025
Chapter 5
04/07/2025
Chapter 6
04/07/2025
Chapter 7
04/07/2025
Chapter 8
04/07/2025
Chapter 9
04/07/2025
Chapter 10
04/07/2025
Chapter 11
04/07/2025
Chapter 12
04/07/2025
Chapter 13
04/07/2025
Chapter 14
04/07/2025
Other books by Gavin
More