**LILA POV**
I finally reach Caleb late in the afternoon.
Not a call. Not a clean connection. Just a brief signal that flickers into existence long enough to let one message slip through before the line degrades again. My phone vibrates once on the counter while I’m rinsing a mug, the sound sharp and sudden in the quiet cabin, and it hits harder than it should.
I freeze.
For a second, I don’t move at all. Water keeps running. The mug slips slightly in my grip, ceramic knocking softly against the sink. I don’t turn it off. I don’t dry my hands. I just stand there, like if I shift even an inch the signal will vanish again. Like this is something fragile I could scare off by reacting too fast.
Like this is him.
Then I force myself to breathe, shut the tap, and dry my hands slowly on the
