“Don’t answer it,” Heather implored, her voice shaking. Sam’s gaze fixed on the vibrating phone. “But if I don’t, we’ll never find out what she’s planning!” he countered, his own voice betraying his nerves. Heather met his eyes; he had a point. She too was desperate for answers, and this call might just offer them. After a tense moment, she relented, “Alright, go ahead.” Sam hesitantly picked up the call.
With trembling hands, Sam answered the call. Immediately, the sound of Jackie’s distraught sobs filled the line. “Sam…it’s awful!” she cried between heaving breaths. “Someone broke in…the house is ruined!”. Sam and Heather exchanged startled looks. On the surface, Jackie sounded completely frantic and terrified. But having witnessed her destruction firsthand, they knew her hysterics were an act.