Claire’s POV

The following morning my phone’s alarm wakes me from a half-dream and I am groping on the nightstand for the phone, knocking a glass over which creates a thudding sound on the carpet. Last night’s anonymous phone call about people watching me scratches at my mind. I pull myself upright, the sheets knotted around my calves; gray light seeps through the blinds. Ethan’s text from yesterday stung, a subtle reminder of my decision to forsake his affection for the gilded maze ...