A chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning swept through him as his phone vibrated on the desk. It was an unknown number, and the text message contained only a single, grainy thumbnail—a photo of Elias, taken from the server room window, just as he opened the file.
The sterile hum of the server room was the only soundtrack to Elias’s midnight shift when the notification pinged: File 1197902709-170667a.jpg downloaded successfully. Download istockphoto 1197902709 170667a jpg
He clicked it open, expecting another generic architectural render for the firm’s upcoming pitch. Instead, the screen filled with a high-resolution, sun-drenched capture of an abandoned lighthouse on a jagged, unnamed coast. It was hauntingly beautiful, but something felt off. Elias zoomed in, his mouse skittering over the pixels of the weathered stone. A chill that had nothing to do with