I Ignored My Sister’s Cryptic Airport Note and Boarded the Plane—Ten Minutes Later, I Saw the Black Square and Realized My Life Was Over

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I opened the message.

Attached was a simple black square.

No text.

No explanation.

Just a solid black image.

At first I thought it was a mistake.

Then my stomach dropped.

The square looked familiar.

I reached into my pocket and unfolded Ava’s note.

“Don’t trust the square.”

Suddenly, my pulse was racing.

I tried calling her.

Straight to voicemail.

Again.

Voicemail.

Again.

Nothing.

The plane doors closed.

My hands shook as I stared at the attachment.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

Then another email arrived.

This one wasn’t from HR.

It contained a single sentence.