softspine
Three years ago, Ariana Vale vanished from campus without a trace. No leads. No body. Just silence - and the memory of a necklace with a silver A that disappeared with her.
Now, her name resurfaces in the worst way: a chilling message posted on the infamous "Flash Site," a student-run forum notorious for gossip and chaos. The site's queen, Jo Riley, twenty-two, bratty, sharp-tongued, and a magnet for trouble, is used to fueling scandals, not finding herself caught in one. But the new post is different. It's poetic, eerie, and comes with a photo of Ariana's necklace buried in mud by the river - along with a hidden line of Morse code.
Enter Detective Tasha Kincaid, thirty-one, new to town and known for handling cases alone. Tough, guarded, and uncompromising, she doesn't play well with others and has no patience for college drama. But Ariana's case is hers now, and the anonymous message makes one thing clear: someone out there remembers what happened.
With the past clawing its way back into the present, Jo and Tasha are pulled into the mystery from opposite worlds - the reckless student and the lone-wolf detective - bound together by a single haunting question:
Who took Ariana Vale, and why are they speaking now?