The SIM card she'd used to call Morando had been pulled out and reinserted over and over again, each time by Brianna's own hands.
She'd originally planned to burn it and throw it away, but when it actually came to holding a flame to it, she couldn't bring herself to do it. In the end she put it back, keeping the phone on airplane mode indefinitely.
Only in the early hours of the morning — five, six AM, when Morando should have been asleep — did she let herself quietly switch the signal back on.
Brianna was deeply grateful she'd kept that SIM card.
November 26, 2026. 5:04 AM. Overcast with rain. Full signal.
On this day — the day she felt she could barely hold on any longer — she found twelve unread voice messages and four unread texts waiting for her. All from Morando.
Two more than the day before...
She stared at the bright red notification numbers over and over, as though they were rubies set into a crown.
