Chapter 48: The Hacker
The building looked abandoned.
Chloe had been standing outside for ten minutes, watching the cracked windows and the graffiti-covered walls, trying to decide if this was a trap. Charlie had given her the address with a warning: "She's not like us, Chloe. She's been through things that would break most people. Don't push her. Don't threaten her. Just... let her talk."
Chloe had nodded, but she hadn't understood. Not until now.
She pushed open the rusted door and stepped inside.
The stairwell smelled like mildew and decay. The lightbulbs were dead, forcing her to navigate by the dim glow of her phone screen. She climbed three flights, her footsteps echoing in the silence, her heart pounding with a familiar, nervous rhythm.
The door at the end of the hall was slig
