“She was acting suspicious near the exit,” Miller added. “We found this in her purse.”

I stared at the phone.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

“Did she have it?” I whispered.

“Yes,” Detective Miller said. “And we found something else on it.”

He tapped the plastic bag, pointing to the screen.

“There are dozens of outgoing messages to your husband,” Miller said. “Emergency texts you sent weeks ago.”

I stepped closer, my eyes wide.

“They were never delivered,” Vance said. “They were blocked and deleted from the sending queue.”

The screen of the phone suddenly lit up with a new notification.

I leaned in, my breath fogging the clear plastic of the evidence bag.

The blue glow of the screen illuminated Detective Miller’s gloved thumb.

The notification was an incoming text message from a contact saved as “Mother.”

“Did you get the device?” the message read. “Make sure it is completely destroyed before you leave the building.”

My hand flew to my mouth.

“That’s Josephine,” I said, my voice shaking. “She sent that to my phone.”