Maya strolled out of the café, the glass door swinging shut behind her as a breath of cool Manhattan air grazed her face.
The late-afternoon thrill had already begun, people moving fast, taxis honking, dialogues overlapping, creating a brook of noise.
She pushed her neck, attempting to reduce the pressure in her shoulders.
"Twelve hours," she murmured. "I'm very much deserving of this coffee."
Across the street, something unique stole her attention.
A group of men stood in a line along a brick wall, their actions synchronized unusually.
One held a bucket, another a wide brush dripping with thick paste, while two others smoothed sheets of paper against the wall with efficiency.
Maya stalled slightly.
"More ads…" she assumed.
New York was covered in them, flyers, promotions, political campaigns, missing cats, and underground concerts. Nothing ever stayed blank for long.
She didn't think twice.
Adjusting her bag, she crossed the street and slipped into a small coffee shop wedged between a deli and a laundromat. The bell above the door chimed softly, a stark contrast to the bluster outside.
"Next!" the barista called.
"Large cappuccino," Maya said, exhaling. "Extra shot. Actually, make it two."
The barista smirked. "That kind of day?"
"You don't even know."
While she waited, Maya pulled out her phone, her thumb hovering over Tessa's name for a second before she locked the screen again.
She hadn't heard from her all day.
But that wasn't weird.
Tessa had been withdrawn lately. Sleeping more and talking less and living like she was trying not to be seen, even inside her own life.
Still…
A small knot of unease settled in Maya's chest.
"Order for Maya!"
She grabbed the cup. "Thanks."
By the time she stepped back outside, the men were gone.
The wall was covered now, layered in fresh sheets, still damp at the edges, corners slightly curling as the glue settled. The white paper stood out sharply against the dark brick, too clean, too deliberate.
Maya walked past it at first.
Then stopped.
Something tugged at her.
She turned back.
"Just a glance," she mumbled.
She stepped closer.
The bold headline hit her first.
MISSING PERSON
Her stomach dipped.
People vanished every day.
Her eyes drifted downward
And the world stopped.
The coffee cup slipped slightly in her grip.
"No…"
The face stared back at her.
Clear.
Undeniable.
Tessa.
A brighter version, Hair brushed. Eyes alive. Lips parted like she had something to say.
"Tessa…" Maya whispered.
Her voice sounded distant. Imaginary.
Below the photo
Her name.
Tessa Smith.
A description.
A timeline.
And then—
The digit.
Maya's breath caught sharply.
A bounty.
A real one.
Not casual.
The kind that made people desperate.
Her heart began to pound.
"No, no, no…"
People walked past her, barely noticing. A man paused briefly, squinted at the paper, then kept moving. A woman snapped a quick picture and sent it to someone.
Her fingers trembled as she yanked her phone out.
She called immediately.
It rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"Pick up," she whispered. "Tess, please—pick up…"
Voicemail.
She hung up, her hands shaking harder now, and called again.
Nothing.
Again.
Still nothing.
Her chest tightened painfully.
"Okay… okay…" she muttered, pacing slightly. "She's probably asleep. She does that. She sleeps through everything. That's all this is."
But the image on the wall burned into her mind.
MISSING.
Like Tessa didn't exist.
Like she had been erased.
Maya typed quickly.
Maya: Tess, call me. Right now.
Another message.
Maya: Please tell me you're home.
She stared at the screen.
No reply.
A wave of panic surged through her, hot and suffocating.
But she forced it down.
Not here.
She couldn't draw attention.
Couldn't afford mistakes.
Swallowing hard, she stepped away from the wall, her legs feeling unsteady.
"After work," she whispered. "I'll check after work."
But every second after that felt wrong.
The rest of her shift unraveled.
Maya moved like she was a submarine, swift, diverted, disconnected.
She got the orders wrong.
Forgot names.
Had a minor accident on her pinky finger.
Her manager snapped at her twice.
She barely reacted.
Her mind stayed fixed on one thing.
The wall.
The poster.
The silence.
By the time her shift ended, she didn't even say goodbye.
She grabbed her bag and rushed out, her pace quick, urgent, almost desperate.
The subway felt suffocating.
Too many people.
Too many eyes.
What if someone recognized her?
What if someone had already seen Tessa?
What if
She pushed the thoughts away.
By the time she reached the apartment building, her hands were shaking.
She poked around with the keys, nearly dropping them before finally forcing the door open.
"Tessa?"
Silence.
Her heart dropped.
"Tessa!"
"I'm here."
The voice came from the living room.
Soft.
Sleepy.
Alive.
Maya froze
Relief hit her so hard it almost hurt.
She strolled inside quickly, shutting the door behind her like she was locking something out.
Tessa sat snuggled on the couch, covered in a blanket, her hair messy, her face still heavy with sleep.
"You're back," she said, winking. "What's wrong?"
Maya gazed at her.
"Have you been out today?" Maya asked suddenly.
Tessa scowled. "No… I've been here all day. Why?"
Maya exhaled shakily.
"Thank God."
Tessa straightened, alarm creeping into her expression. "Maya, you're scaring me. What's going on?
Maya paused.
Then she told her.
Everything.
"The walls," she said. "They're posting flyers. Everywhere, I think. Your face is on them, Tess. Your full name. A bounty. People are looking for you.
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Tessa didn't move.
"…what?" she whispered.
"I saw it," Maya said. "It's you. There is no mistake."
Tessa's grip pulled on the blanket.
"That's not possible," she said, her voice shaking. "I haven't even left this apartment. How can I be missing if I'm right here?"
"I don't know," Maya confessed.
Tessa stood abruptly, panic rising fast.
"Who would do that?" she demanded. "Why would anyone do that?"
Then
It slammed her.
Her face went pale.
"…Collins."
The name lowered like a stone.
Her stomach curled violently.
"No… he wouldn't…" she whispered, but even she didn't believe it.
Her hands started trembling
"I need to call my sister."
She grabbed her phone, dialing with trembling fingers.
It rang.
And rang
Then
"Hello?"
"Tessa?" her sister's voice came through, tight with anxiety. "Is that you?"
"Why is my face on the streets?" Tessa demanded, her voice breaking. "Why is there a bounty on me?"
A sharp inhale came from the other end
"I don't know," her sister said quickly. "I swear, I don't"
"Don't lie to me!"
"I'm not!" she cried. "The previous time Collins came here, he was angry. I have never seen him like that. He kept asking about you, where you were, who you were with, he was so angry, Tess."
Tessa's grip tightened.
"And you didn't think to warn me?" she whispered.
"I tried! You stopped answering your phone!"
Tears burned in Tessa's eyes.
"I didn't know he'd do this," her sister continued, her voice trembling. "I didn't know he'd go this far, I promise"
Tessa felt something inside her break
"He put a price on me," she said hollowly
"I'm sorry," her sister whispered.
Silence extended between them before the call ended.
Tessa lowered the phone slowly, her body going still.
"I'm not safe," she said.
Maya sat beside her carefully.
"We'll figure something out."
But the words felt vulnerable.
Empty.
Tessa shook her head.
"There's nowhere to go," she whispered.
Her chest tightened
Her appetite vanished.
Her thoughts spiraled.
"They're going to find me, eventually"