They had spent the whole summer acting careful. My mother clipped coupons in front of me and sighed over grocery prices. My father shook his head when I suggested one quiet weekend away together, like I had asked him to buy a second house instead of share a motel room and a diner breakfast. “This summer we’re staying in,” Mom told me. “It’s just too much.” I believed her because believing them had become a reflex, even after years of little disappointments. They knew I kept one reserve account for emergencies, and they knew my health was the reason I guarded it like oxygen. At 3:08 in the morning, my phone buzzed hard enough to wake me. The notification said $9,860 had been withdrawn from my reserve fund. I sat up so fast the room tilted, opened the banking app, and watched my own life turn into someone else’s vacation. There were first-class flights to Mykonos. There was a luxury suite, a private driver, designer shops, spa treatments, and restaurant holds that cost more than my rent. Every charge use

But the expression vanished quickly.

“Show me the phone.”

Audrey’s heart beat harder.

“Move away from the door.”

Diana obeyed.

She stepped toward the window and raised both hands slightly.

“All right.”

Audrey pulled the phone from beneath the blanket.

Diana’s eyes narrowed.

“Where did you get that?”

“It was in the drawer.”

“When?”

“After you left.”

“No one was supposed to enter this room.”

“Someone did.”

Audrey unlocked the screen and turned it toward her.

The photograph of Julian and Martin filled the display.

Diana crossed the room in two quick steps, then stopped herself before reaching for the device.

“When was this taken?”

“Minutes ago.”

“Can you enlarge it?”

Audrey did.

Julian stood near a black sedan beneath the concrete lights of the parking garage. His tuxedo jacket was gone, and his white shirt was open at the throat.

Martin Keene stood beside him.

Martin’s face was partly turned away, but there was no mistaking his silver hair, broad shoulders, or the dark leather briefcase he carried everywhere.

Diana read the messages below the image.

Her mouth became a thin line.

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