"Aria, I'm doing this for your own good." His voice trembled with feigned nobility. "Once you get rid of that thing inside you, you'll still be my sister. I'll make you Georgia's assistant. I'll make sure you're fed and clothed."
He stared down at me—but he wasn't explaining anything to me.
He was brainwashing himself.
His hand rose, beckoning the doctor forward.
I summoned every ounce of strength left in my body.
"Bring me my phone."
My voice came out raw. Steady.
"Or you'll regret this for the rest of your life."
Matthew froze mid-gesture.
Georgia scoffed, rolling her eyes. "That broken Nokia? We threw that trash away ages ago."
"Is that so?"
The corner of my mouth quirked up.
"Then you're finished."
The words hung in the sterile air.
"I set a dead man's switch on that phone. If I don't enter a password every twelve hours, it automatically sends a file to Jason Fox at Blackstone Capital."
The color drained from their faces like water from a cracked basin. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
"What file?"
