Chapter 118

• I sat motionless on the edge of my bed, staring at the fractured remains of my phone scattered across the sheets like broken glass memories. I’d already canceled my meeting with Evadne, offering only a vague summary of what happened. I told her I was fine just enough to soothe her concern. But the truth? The truth was much messier.
• Even on the way home, I couldn’t stop replaying the chase. Every second, every sound, the rush of footsteps, the flash of movement. It gnawed at me. Why hadn’t the thief stashed the bag in the van? Dropping it like that made no sense. And the longer I thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. Was he just the most incompetent criminal alive? Or… what if he never intended to steal the bag at all?
• I clenched my jaw, eyes narrowing at the shattered phone. What if the real goal had been to destroy that phone my phone? No… it sounded paranoid. No one even knew about that secure line to Theron. I never used it in public. Except… today. Just today.