Eleanor called before nine the next morning, her voice tight in a way I hadn't heard from her before, not panicked, but sharpened, the sound of a woman recalibrating quickly around unwelcome news.
"Noah told me everything," she said, no preamble. "The message, the number, all of it. I want you to know I take this extremely seriously, Jasmine. I should have moved faster on the confirmation weeks ago. I let my own caution create an opening for someone else to exploit."
"You couldn't have known someone would try to weaponize it," I said, though her guilt was audible even through the phone, and I found myself wanting to soften it despite everything.
"Perhaps not. But I've spent four years being careful, and careful has a cost too, apparently." A pause, papers rustling on her end. "I've move
