ia Si

ment under the flickering neon lights of Manhattan. I took a deep breath. For the first time in five years,

p. A yellow cab splashed through a puddle

ere to, lady?" the driver asked, his heavy

The Starlight M

credit cards with my name on them within the hour. That was

atching the blurred city lights streak past. With every block we traveled

r with the emergency cash I kept in my shoe lin

as half-asleep. He slid a rusty brass key across the counter, barely looking up. He had no idea he

h step groaned under my weight. I unloc

t jacket onto the yellowed bedspread and

usty faucet, cupped the freezing tap water in my hands, and splashed it violently onto my fa

e hidden lining of my skirt pocket and pulled

dy, violent history of my family's collapse. I had built this de

glowing with a dark blue light. A prompt appeared,

all keyboard. Five years had

interface was entirely blank. There were no apps, no photos.

ut him off five years ago. I disappeared into Ashton's shadow to make sure my family's

ent tube TV buzzed to life. An ente

ing outside the museum, looking devastatingly

s due to immense work pressure," Ashton lied, his voice thick

e and sniffled. "Please, just give Claudia s

eality upside down. The guilt in my chest evapo

ressed my thumb down hard

static. Every crackle sounded

ne clicked open. He had been waiting by this device f

it y

as a low, gravelly rumble. It was shaking w

red the armor I had worn all

heek, hot and silent. I forced my voice to

iver, like a heavy solid wood chair

He sounded like a beast that had been locked in a lightless c

tone shifting into something terrifyingl

a blade dipped in ice: 'Who t