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It wasn’t meant for me, or I would have received the additional five hundred dollars.
I should have turned it in to Audrey. But she would have found a way to blame me for it.
My stomach tightens so quickly I press one hand against it.
Is the phone still there?
Seemingly of their own accord, my feet begin walking toward that old hallway.
I stop in front of the bust of Arthur Vexley.
I glance over my shoulder.
No one.
I reach behind Arthur Vexley’s marble head and pull out the phone.
Dead screen.
My mouth goes dry.
For a moment, I only stare at it. The safe thing would be to put it back. Walk away. Forget I ever saw it.
But the safe thing and the right thing aren’t always the same.
I press the power button. The battery icon appears. Ten percent. I suppose I’m lucky it’s not completely dead.
The phone vibrates.
Once.
The screen lights.
I almost drop it.
The screen fills with text notifications.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Buzz.
Each one jolts through my hand.
I stare at the screen.
Same unknown sender.
Report.
The next.
You were told to confirm.
Then—
Do not go silent.