**Sophia’s POV**
Riya arrived twenty minutes after my call, breathing hard like she had run the whole way from her house. She stepped inside and locked the door behind her without me saying a word. We sat at the kitchen table with the map, the threatening messages on my phone, and Sharma’s notebook spread out between us like evidence in a crime show.
“I’m scared, Riya,” I said quietly. The words felt strange coming out. Until now the project had felt important and a little exciting, like we were doing something that mattered. Now it felt dangerous. Real. “What if they actually hurt Luca? What if those messages aren’t just threats? What if they come after us next?”
Riya looked as pale as I felt, but she reached across the table and squeezed my hand tight. “We’ll figure this out together.
