Elias clicked it. It was a high-resolution photo taken from the street, looking up at his window. He could see himself clearly, silhouetted against the red glow of his monitor, holding his phone.
Then, his phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number appeared: "V0.8.7.4 installed. Beginning life-cycle deletion."
A chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning settled in his chest. He ran the executable. The screen didn't flicker or glitch. Instead, his monitor bled into a deep, visceral crimson. A low-frequency hum vibrated through his desk, a sound so deep it felt like it was coming from his own bones rather than the speakers.