Echoes in Glass

The hotel room was dim, the curtains drawn against the neon glow of the city. The air smelled faintly of stale coffee and exhaustion. Jessica sat on the edge of the couch, her hands laced together, her eyes distant. Olivia leaned against the desk, arms crossed, while Leanna paced near the window, her fingers drumming against her arm.

“Let’s lay it out again,” Olivia said, breaking the silence. “What do we actually know?”

Leanna exhaled. “Jason was found in his old clothes, but the body was frozen for years. Someone preserved him, then put him where we’d find him.”

“Langford was silenced,” Jessica murmured. “He either knew too much or was about to say the wrong thing.”

“And Olivia was attacked after recovering data from the floppy,” Leanna added, casting a sidelong glance at her. “Which means we’re not the only ones looking for answers.”

Olivia shifted uncomfortably but didn’t argue.

Jessica pressed her palms against her temples. Something didn’t fit. It wasn’t just that Jason had been found, it was how. It was staged. It was deliberate.

“This isn’t just about Jason,” she said finally. “It’s about me. Someone is trying to tell me something. I just don’t know what.”

Leanna stopped pacing. “You think this is a message?”

Jessica nodded, her jaw tightening. “Jason’s body. The timing. The genetic markers. It’s not just coincidence. This was placed in my path on purpose.”

Silence settled between them. A warning? A revelation? Or a trap?

Jessica’s breath caught. The memories were surfacing again.

A drink passed from Leanna’s hand to Jason’s. The warmth of the party lights flickering across the glass. Laughter. Jason’s own voice, echoing strangely.

And then pain. A sudden snap of panic. The white van. The hood over his head.

But this time, Jessica wasn’t seeing it from outside. She was seeing it from Jason’s eyes.

She sucked in a sharp breath, her hands trembling. Leanna and Olivia were watching her now, worry written across their faces.

“Jess?” Leanna’s voice was measured, but there was an edge to it.

Jessica swallowed. “I saw it. Again. The night Jason disappeared. But this time… I saw it from his perspective.”

Olivia’s brows furrowed. “That’s not possible.”

“None of this is possible,” Jessica shot back, standing abruptly. She pressed a hand to her forehead. Why now? Why was she remembering this way?

Leanna’s expression darkened. “Your memories aren’t just yours, are they?”

Jessica’s silence was answer enough.

* * *

Later, after Jessica had retreated to her room to process, Leanna found Olivia sitting by the hotel’s small balcony, staring out at the cityscape. A fading bruise marked her jaw, barely concealed by makeup.

Leanna leaned against the doorway. “You should’ve told us sooner.”

Olivia didn’t look at her. “Told you what?”

“That someone nearly beat the hell out of you for that disk. That they took it.”

Olivia sighed, rubbing her knuckles against her temple. “I didn’t see the point in making a big deal out of it. I salvaged the data. We still got something.”

“That’s not the point, Liv,” Leanna said, stepping closer. “You were targeted. That means this is bigger than we thought. Someone out there doesn’t just want to cover this up—they want to erase every trace of it. And you almost got erased along with it.”

Olivia finally met her eyes, her expression unreadable. “So what do we do?”

Leanna glanced toward Jessica’s closed door. “We keep moving. We find the next piece of this puzzle before someone else does.”

Because the message was clear now.

Whoever was behind this wasn’t just sending a warning. They were waiting to see what Jessica would do next.