Zamor

nto the room, their faces grim. Hayes followed them, his eyes like chips of

?" His voice was low, dangerous

nd sharp, pierced through me. The men were

this?" My voice w

fixed on me, devoid of any warmth. "Every device

watched, helpless, as my laptop was raised high and then slammed to the floor. The screen shattered, a spiderweb of cracks spreadin

s streamed down my face. "Wh

let, my external hard drives, even my phone. Every piece of technology tha

sture so tender, so unexpected, it made my skin crawl. "I've erased it all, Everly," he said, his voice surprisin

wasn't it?" The words were a bitter accu

a strange, weary apology. "I

the shattered electronics, picking up the broken pieces of my laptop. I tried to fit them back together

d me. Laughing. Happy. A picture from the early days, before the lies, before Karmen. My hand trembled. I remembered the video I

t down, smashing the last intact piece of t

spered to the empty room.

n play. Karmen was the lead. I was cast as the villain, the ugl

told them, my voice

es, my broken dreams. I typed a brief message to Hayes, a final goodbye, and sent it to

ck in, a sudden panic seized me. My grandmother' s locket. My mother'

quiet, deserted. Just as I reached my dorm, a sudden blow to the back of