Two suitcases were stored in a locker across town.
A new phone remained sealed in its box.
My passport sat in Liam’s safe.
I had built an exit with the precision of a financial investigation.
But I had never imagined leaving him from a hospital bed while he drove away.
“I need my phone,” I said.
You don’t have it.”
“A phone.”
“For what?”
“To call Halden.”
Liam stared at me.
“No.”
“What?”
“You have a concussion.”
“The audit team may be at risk.”
“From what?”
“I don’t know.”
“That answer is exactly why you are not turning this hospital room into an office.”
I pushed myself upward.
Pain tore through my side.
Priya immediately stepped toward me.
“Stop.”
“I have to—”
“No,” she said firmly. “You have to breathe.”
I hated her for approximately three seconds.
Then I obeyed.
She adjusted the bed.
When the pain eased, she looked at me with a patience that felt almost stern.
