Her phone vibrated again. Incoming. Not a message this time. A call. Unknown number. Ethan looked at the screen.“Don’t answer that.”Serena already was.“Hello.”Silence. Not empty silence. Measured silence. Then a voice. Distorted. Filtered. But controlled.“You adapt quickly.”Serena’s grip on the phone tightened slightly.“So do you,” she replied.A faint pause.“Of course,” the voice said. “That’s the point.”Ethan stepped closer, trying to listen. Serena turned slightly away, eyes still locked on the shifting data streams.“You escalated faster than projected,” she said.A soft sound came through the line not quite a laugh. Not quite approval.“We corrected for inefficiency.”Serena’s eyes narrowed.“You mean you adjusted for me.”This time, the pause was longer. Then...“Yes.”No denial. No deflection. That told her everything.Ethan whispered, “Who is that?”Serena didn’t answer him because right now, this wasn’t about identity. It was about position.“You’re watching me,” Ser
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