Our family group chat is called Fam ❤️. Five people. Me, Mom, Dad, my sister Zoe, my little brother Sam. Tonight my phone buzzed and the header said 6 members. The new one had no name. No profile photo. Just a gray circle. Mom: "who is this??" Three dots. Typing. Then it sent one photo. Our living room. The couch. Dad's mug on the coffee table, still steaming. Taken from inside the house.

Dad: "Nobody move. I'm going downstairs." Me: "dad don't" Zoe: "DAD PLEASE" We all watched the chat instead of moving. The gray circle started typing. It typed for a long time. Way too long for what came out. One line: "Tell him to check the closet first."