I rubbed my thumb against the charcoal dust on my skin.

Something in her voice felt too measured, too deliberate.

“How do I know you haven’t already told Daniel about this call?” I asked.

“Because Daniel would have stopped me,” she said. “He doesn’t share power, Emily.”

I stood up and walked toward the window again.

The street below was dark, the streetlights reflecting off the wet pavement.

A dark SUV was parked near the corner, its hazard lights blinking.

It wasn’t Daniel’s sedan.

“Where are you right now, Clara?” I asked.

“In my car, driving back to the Loop,” she said.

“You sound very clear,” I said.

“The encryption software ensures high-fidelity audio,” she replied.

I looked back at my phone screen.

A small green dot was blinking in the corner of the application interface.

I hadn’t noticed it before.

I tapped the screen with my free hand, opening the app’s connection details.

A string of data was scrolling at the bottom of the screen.

It wasn’t just a voice protocol.

It was an active data packet exchange.

“Emily?” Clara asked. “Are you still there?”