.
“Right now, you are still traceable,” she said. “Your phone, your bank activity, your name, your digital footprint—everything still leads back to you.”
My stomach tightened slightly.
“I left my phone.”
“That’s a start,” she said. “But it’s not enough.”
Of course it wasn’t.
Nothing about this was simple.
“They’ll realise you’re gone soon,” she continued. “When you don’t show up tomorrow, they won’t assume you ran. They’ll assume something changed.”
“They’ll know I know,” I said quietly.
“Yes.”
The word landed heavily.
“And then they’ll come looking.”
My chest tightened again, but this time I didn’t let it take over.
“Let them.”
Victoria’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“You don’t understand yet,” she said. “This isn’t about pride. Or proving a point. If they find you before you’r
