"Very funny," Leo whispered, his voice cracking. He checked his webcam. The shutter was closed. He checked his phone. It was off.

The installation bar didn’t crawl; it sprinted. 10%... 50%... 100%.

In the video, a hand reached out and grabbed a coffee mug—the exact chipped "World’s Okayest Designer" mug sitting inches from his keyboard.

The glowing blue button on the screen felt like a dare.

The video on the screen continued. It showed Leo sitting at his computer, staring at the screen with wide, bloodshot eyes. Then, in the video, a shadow moved in the corner of his room—the dark corner right behind his bookshelf.