The lie held for about a few hours.
Elena was seated in the back row of the lecture hall, her laptop open, her notebook untouched. Professor Adler’s voice droned on about proximate cause and reasonable foreseeability, but the words slid past her like static. Her wrist ached beneath the sleeve of her cardigan, the weight of the cuff suddenly unbearable.
She told herself to breathe.
You’re safe, she lied to herself.
It worked.
Then a phone chimed.
Just one at first. A soft, innocuous sound. Elena barely noticed it.
Then another.
And another.
The sound spread through the hall like a ripple pings, vibrations, sharp inhales. Someone near the front whispered, “Oh my God.” A girl two seats away covered her mouth. The energy in the room shifted, subtle but unmistakable, like the moment be
