As the file finalized, the room grew unnaturally cold. He opened the media player. The episode didn't start with the usual upbeat theme music. Instead, it was a single, long take of a candlelit dinner. Maya sat across from a man whose face remained in the shadows.

"Cut," a voice boomed from behind the camera. But the recording didn't stop. The man in the shadows stood up, and the camera tilted down. In the reflection of a silver wine chiller, Elias saw the camera operator. It wasn't a professional crew. It was a man in a mask, holding a phone.

Suddenly, his speakers crackled. A new file began downloading automatically, labeled . Elias looked up at his own webcam. The tiny green light was already on.

"Is this part of the script?" Maya whispered on screen. Her eyes weren't looking at her co-star; they were looking directly into the camera—directly at Elias.