My hand went numb around the phone as the voice on the other end confirmed my deepest dread - somehow, someway, our meddling had not only blown up spectacularly in Zoe's face, but had now managed to drag her literal embodiment of betrayal into the crosshairs as well.
I could only gape helplessly at Tom as the rustle of movement continued over the line, waiting with bated breath for Stella to offer some kind of context, some excuse for why she would so brazenly insert herself into this already disastrous situation.
Finally, just when I thought the suspense might shatter my last tattered nerve, her voice came through again - resigned, tinged with that same hollowed-out exhaustion I'd heard at her home.
"I'm...I'm at the hotel," she said haltingly. "I don't know how, but...I got a voicemai
