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 The notification said $9,860 had been withdrawn from my reserve fund.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

Audrey understood.

“If he wipes the footage, there will be no proof he came here.”

Diana reached for her weapon, then remembered it was still on the counter inside the room. She retrieved it and checked the magazine.

“You stay with the nurse.”

“Diana.”

She paused.

“Check the inside pocket of your jacket.”

Diana frowned.

“What?”

“Please.”

Diana opened her jacket and reached into the inner pocket.

Her fingers closed around something.

She pulled out a small silver key.

It was attached to a plastic tag stamped with the number 314.

Diana stared at it.

“That is not mine.”

Audrey looked at the black phone.

A new message appeared.

NOW SHE KNOWS SHE WAS USED TOO.

Diana read it over Audrey’s shoulder.

For the first time, her composure cracked.

“Someone planted this on me.”

“When?”