Hours passed, and Jennifer’s paranoia only deepened. Every time a nurse entered the room or a doctor came by to check on her, she braced herself for confrontation, for someone to bring up the missing phone.
Her anxiety was like a coiled spring, tightening with every look exchanged by the staff. One evening, as she shifted in bed, something hard pressed against her side. Confused, she reached beneath the thin hospital blanket, and her fingers brushed against something familiar.