Unspoken Ties

When Valerie snapped back to reality, she heard a beeping sound from the phone's other end. Startled, she rushed to hang up the call, but her nervousness only made it harder to do so.

She fumbled, and her phone toppled over.

As her phone fell to the ground, Declan's deep and pleasant voice greeted her from the other end, "Hello."

Valerie was taken aback and urgently signaled Lily to stay quiet whi