Silent Departure

The next morning, Declan found that he couldn't reach Valerie at that number.

He had planned to meet her for dinner before his flight back home in the afternoon, but the calls went straight to voicemail with the "phone has been switched off" message.

At first, Declan held onto a glimmer of hope, thinking that she might be in a meeting.

However, when he tried again in the afternoon, the same "phone