"Hey, Ren," Donno's voice echoes out of the phone, sounding tinny and kind of thin, like he had his phone on speaker while he was handling other things a few feet away. "Guess I missed you. I got to use my hammers earlier finally. They're weighted perfectly, you know? Handled beautifully. Will need to find other ways to use them. Anyway, just calling to let you know I might not be available for our usual call time because that Arlen cop guy and his ex's current husband came to us. Guess Denise and the sheriff's daughter got taken, and they didn't seem to care for my suggestion they try milk cartons. No one appreciates the classics anymore."
There's a pause, the sounds of Donno rustling around in the background only just audible over the faint static of the phones. "I don't really trust them, but we're gonna help these guys find the girls. Tonya agreed after we were promised all of the money, so I guess I'm going along with it. She says this is it and we're out, which sounds really good." There's more silence, Donno shuffling around, and then he speaks again. "I know it surprised you when I decided to stay here, but it... it felt right. Working at the restaurant, helping Tonya with the real estate business. It's been nice. I do miss you though."
The rest of the message is Donno talking about his plans with his portion of the money, business plans, his future with Tonya, even some further ideas about a fox ranch, then a hasty goodbye after Tonya's heard in the background, urging him to hurry up.
Ordinarily a message like this would have Ren chuckling, maybe even laughing out loud, but instead she sits up in bed, fingers squeezing the phone tightly as she grits her teeth against a strange, sharp pain in her chest that had woke her up and left her breathless ever since, even when she'd checked her phone and found this message waiting for her.
She stares blankly at the opposite wall as the message ends, leaving her listening to damnable silence. She tosses the phone aside blindly and presses her fist against the aching emptiness in her sternum, trying and failing to massage the agony away. "Donno...?" she breathes out, eyes wide with horror.