Part 57
(Alex's POV)
Morning crept through the blinds of her rented room in thin, pale stripes. The laptop's fan was the only sound.
She hadn't slept. She didn't need to. The work was happening for her now.
Tabs bloomed across the screen—forums, comment chains, fan accounts repeating the same questions in new words.
Each one was a small vibration in a web she had built overnight.
He's seeing it, she thought. He has to be seeing it by now.
She refreshed the feed again. Someone had posted a photo of Adrian from last week, his smile faint, eyes tired.
Underneath:
Do you think Leah's pushing him too hard?
Dozens of replies followed, arguing, defending, doubting.
No one would ever know where it started. That was the beauty of it.
Alex leaned back in her chair. Her reflection hovered in the dark part of the screen—steady eyes, calm breath.
This wasn't rage anymore; it was control.
Every rumor that carried Leah's name made Adrian's world tilt a little further.
And when it tilted enough, he'd reach for something stable.
That's when he'll find me, she told herself. The only quiet left will be my voice.
Her phone buzzed with a new alert: another post, another thread.
The sound was soft but thrilling, like a secret code tapped through glass.
She closed the laptop gently, letting the echoes of the notifications fade.
Outside, the city was waking, unaware that a single person in a small room had shifted an entire conversation.
Let the noise work for me, she thought, stepping to the window.
The louder it gets, the easier it will be for him to hear me when I whisper.