That’s what made her careful.”

We were both quiet.

I had mistaken Chloe’s silence for contentment and Garrett’s charm for stability.

Tessa had mistaken confidentiality for protection.

Neither of us had meant to fail her, but good intentions had not made the danger disappear.

Tessa offered screenshots of messages Chloe had sent and agreed to speak to investigators.

Most importantly, she told me that Chloe had saved digital copies of financial documents in a secure email folder.

Patricia arranged for the information to be passed through appropriate channels rather than forwarded casually from one phone to another.