Elena's POV
The silence had shape now.
It crept along the walls like mist—unseen but present. Every tick of the bulb above, every scrape of rope against my skin, reminded me that time was passing… and I was still here.
Still trapped.
Still watched.
My arm throbbed, but the pain had dulled into something distant. My focus was sharper now. The fog was clearing.
They hadn't spoken to me in hours. No messages. No distorted voice. Just the static hum of surveillance and the occasional click of movement outside the door.
They wanted me to break.
But all they were doing was giving me time to think.
To remember.
The screen flickered once. I snapped my head up.
Nothing.
Still black.
I studied the red blinking light above it. Always blinking. Always recording. But maybe… also transmitting.
I leaned forward. Just slightly. Let my expression shift from blank to weary. Then, just for a second—I let a tear fall.
It wasn't real. But it looked real.
