Chapter 2: The Vanishing

November 22, 2017.

While the whole country was in an uproar over the daycare needle scandal in a certain tri-color preschool, my own heart felt full of holes.

Cable news blared from the TV in my parents’ kitchen, anchors arguing as snow drifted past the window. The world felt frantic and loud, but inside I was numb—untethered, floating.

My fiancée was missing from our wedding.

She was gone.

No arguments, no fights.

Even the last time we saw each other, we’d pressed our butterfly tattoos together at our ankles, kicking our feet in the air like two kids, laughing and goofing around.

We’d sprawled across my faded college couch, toes pointed up at the ceiling fan, giggling about nothing and everything. She poked fun at my terrible Netflix queue, and I threatened to change her ringtone to the Jurassic Park theme. The apartment smelled like takeout and fresh flowers—her favorites, lilies and wild daisies, picked from the patch behind our place.

I was a traditional guy from upstate New York—tattoos had never appealed to me.

My mom always said tattoos were for bikers and outlaws, and I’d believed her until Rachel came along. She could talk me into anything with just one crooked smile.

But when I saw her curled up in my arms, giggling, I caved.

For the rest of my life, I was willing to be her half a wing.

We’d fly side by side and see the world.

When we’d had enough adventures, we’d come home and start a family.

She said she wanted a Leo baby, and then a Sagittarius baby.

A family of four, with a son and a daughter.

We even joked about how we’d handle summer birthdays, school runs, who’d do bedtime stories and who’d get stuck with the science projects. Her laughter made everything feel possible.

That was the future we promised each other.

But all those sweet memories turned out to be dreams that faded at dawn.

The night before the wedding, I got a frantic call from the makeup artist:

“Mr. Davis—Jason Davis, the bride is missing…”

The world, already tilted, finally spun out of control.