I don't respond.
Adela emerges from the bathroom, and instead of getting into bed, she lowers herself to the floor beside me.
We lie there in silence, both staring at the ceiling.
"Thank you for being here," she whispers.
I reach for her hand, intertwining our fingers.
Her breathing eventually evens out, but I know she's not sleeping. I can feel the tension in her body, the way her thumb occasionally strokes against mine.
I close my eyes and try to process everything that just happened.
Theo has the laptop. Which means he has all the videos. Which means he has control.
She's going to lean on me now.
That was always the goal.
But she's also hiding something. Which means she's not completely under control. Which is a problem.
And I felt something tonight that I wasn't supposed to feel.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. Another message from Theo.
I pull it out carefully, making sure Adela can't see the screen.
Don't get attached.
Three words this time.
I stare at those words until they blur.
He knows.
He's already several moves ahead, watching me weaken, testing my loyalty.
If Theo thinks I'm compromised, I won't get a second chance.
I lock my phone and slip it back into my pocket.
Beside me, Adela pulls out her own phone and starts scrolling — anything to distract herself from what happened tonight.
I watch her in my peripheral vision. The blue light from her screen illuminates her face. The tear tracks are still visible on her cheeks. The way her hand grips mine like a lifeline.
She thinks I survived this with her.
She has no idea I'm part of what's destroying her.
And the worst part?
I'm starting to wish I wasn't.
Chapter 16: Theo
Thelaptopsitsopenon my desk. I'm not watching the footage for entertainment. I'm categorizing it, organizing what needs to be kept, what needs to be encrypted, and what needs to disappear.
Cody was sloppy — careless in the way only someone who's never faced real consequences can be. He didn't think about metadata. Didn't consider digital footprints. Didn't plan for what happens when someone actually looks.
