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“Yes, you do. These aren’t regular phones you can buy at the store.” I looked at Vivian, and she knew and sighed.

“These are just for us. They’re special.”

“Why?” Kaylee asked suspiciously.

“It’s encrypted, so no one can hack into it. Besides, it holds more data for you to add things to your dating app. The data automatically syncs to my server.”

“So I can make changes on the phone instead of the computer?”

I nodded. “The charge lasts longer and can be recharged if it’s sunnyout.”

“Cool! Thanks!” She turned it on.

I turned to Vivian. “These are all under my account.”

She had questions, but she didn’t ask them because Kaylee was present. I’d spent a lot of money on these high-tech phones to know where Vivian and Kaylee were. It didn’t use regular internet. Instead, it connected to a satellite with a team of experts monitoring it.

What if Ghost was planning an attack on them? I had to protect them.

I gave an envelope to Vivian. “Open it.”

“You got boring papers for Christmas.” Kaylee laughed and ran back to her chair.

Vivian furrowed her eyebrows, opened the packet, and pulled out the documents.

She stared at them, flipped through the pages, looked at me, beamed, and then threw her arms around me. “You were serious about helping me!” She cupped my face and plopped a loud kiss on my lips.

“Ew,” Kaylee said and continued to play with her new phone.

Vivian looked at the documents again.

“You just have to finalize your idea and submit the information to him so he can start on the prototype.”

“You work fast.”

“My legal team will help you get it patented when you’re ready.”

“Really?” She held a pack of paper to her chest. “This was just an idea . . .”

“A brilliant idea,” I reminded her. “And one that could help me too.”

Vivian would soon have a silent handpiece that would make dental visits more comfortable for her patients.

“Oh my God!” Kaylee shouted, jumping up from the couch and pointing to the TV screen. “Viv! Look!”

Vivian and I glanced over at the TV.

Joy splashed on Kaylee’s face as she squealed. “See?”

A news reporterstood in front of agroup of people raising money to help a local restaurant replace their equipment after some vandalism. Nothing stood out to me but one homeless guy wearing a red Patriots knit hat and a ragged brown coat. He stood beside the crowd, holding up a sign with words that didn’t make any sense to me.

“What’s there to see?” Vivian asked. “It’s people rallying support for a restaurant.”

“No!” Kaylee walked up to the TV screen and pointed to the sign in the man’s hand. “Kuraimee!”

“What’s that?” Vivian asked.

“It’s a version of Kuromi.” Kaylee looked at Vivian and me with hope in her eyes. “It’s a message from Aimee.”