Suddenly, his speakers crackled. A distorted, compressed voice whispered the very password he’d used to encrypt his private drives.

Inside the text file was a single line of code: if (observer == seen) { execute.termination; }

A cold chill washed over Elias. He looked back at the image of the hallway. In the graininess of the pixels, he noticed a shadow at the end of the corridor—a shape that hadn't been there when he came home.