Her phone buzzed.
Sharp.
Sudden.
Emma’s breath caught before she even looked.
She already knew.
She didn’t know how—
but she knew.
Her screen lit up.
Brian.
Her fingers hovered for half a second.
Then she opened it.
Don’t respond. Don’t call.
Come alone.
My life is at risk.
Her pulse spiked.
A second message followed almost immediately.
They’re watching communication.
Silence pressed in around her.
The office.
The noise.
The movement.
All of it faded.
Don’t respond.
Come alone.
My life is at risk.
Her grip tightened around the phone.
This wasn’t urgency.
This was fear.
Real fear.
The kind that didn’t exaggerate.
The kind that hid things.
Her eyes lifted instinctively.
Scanning.
People were working.
Talking.
Moving like nothing had changed.
But suddenly—
