Chapter 49

• Julio and I spend the whole night piecing together the puzzle – from my father's shadowy involvement to Caroline's betrayal. Learning that she'd actually claimed Rafael kidnapped her when the cops came makes my stomach turn. I feel like such a fool for not listening to Rafael's warnings, but Julio's firm voice cuts through my self-recrimination. "You couldn't have seen this coming. Don't blame yourself."
• I leave Julio in Rafael's office, still working the phones, and drag myself to my room. Sleep feels like an impossible luxury right now. My mind keeps circling back to the same thought – Julio means well, but he doesn't understand. Rafael's in danger because of me. The guilt sits like lead in my chest, getting heavier with each passing minute.
• I sink onto my bed but immediately jump up when I feel something hard beneath me. A phone lies on the covers, sleek and unfamiliar. Who put this here? As if answering my question, it starts to ring, the screen lighting up in the darkness. I let it ring out, my heart pounding, until a text message appears: