NEO-NOIR PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER FLASH FICTION

In Memoriam: Jonathan Hale, 2018–2024.

A valued team member, gone too soon.

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The email hit my inbox at 9:03 a.m., sandwiched between an IT security update and a reminder about open enrollment. Weekly Digest — Employee Announcements & Transitions. I almost deleted it without reading.

Then I saw my name.

“In Memoriam: Jonathan Hale, 2018–2024. A valued team member, gone too soon.”

My breath hitched. I clicked the link. The company had posted a tribute — a slideshow of office photos. Me at last year’s holiday party. Me leading the Q3 strategy meeting. Me standing beside my manager, shaking hands with a client. Smiling. Alive.

I checked the timestamp. It had been uploaded at 6:47 a.m. Before I even got to work.

My hands were clammy against the keyboard. I turned to my coworkers. No one looked at me. No whispered jokes, no questioning glances. Just the rhythmic clicking of keys, the low murmur of morning meetings.