Video501.mp4 -

For the first ten minutes, nothing moved. Then, a hand reached into the frame and placed a single, blue-bound book on a mahogany table. The person’s face remained off-camera, but Elias noticed a distinctive silver ring on their index finger—a ring he realized, with a jolt, was currently sitting in his own jewelry box.

He looked back at the screen. The video was no longer showing the library. It was now a live feed of his own hallway, filmed from a high corner he had never noticed. On the screen, he saw the door to his basement slowly creaking open. video501.mp4

A heavy thud echoed from the hallway of Elias's real apartment. It wasn't coming from the speakers. For the first ten minutes, nothing moved