Gray studied me with a guarded expression, his voice low and even. "We've searched this aircraft inside and out. We've opened every passenger's luggage, checked every compartment. There is no girlfriend matching your description."
"A living, breathing person doesn't just vanish from a sealed airplane. Are you certain she boarded with you?"
Tears burned behind my eyes. "I'm certain."
"I took photos of the entire boarding process—us walking through the gate, finding our seats, everything. I posted them on social media and sent them to my family group chat. The posts and messages are gone now, but my parents and my friends all saw them."
The sincerity in my voice must have gotten through, because Gray picked up his phone and called my parents on the spot.
But when he asked my mother whether she'd seen the photos I'd shared in the group chat, her voice came through bewildered.
"What photos? I never saw any."
"Besides, my son has always been single. He's never had a girlfriend."
The words hit me like a bolt of lightning. My head went blank.