“How?” Koko asked. “They’ve locked you out of the system.”

“The physical servers in the basement level log every single digital keycard tap,” I said, a spark of hope rising in my chest. “They can edit a video file, but they can’t rewrite the raw hardware logs without leaving a digital footprint.”

“And those logs are kept on the local laboratory intranet,” Koko realized, her tone shifting to one of intense focus.

“Yes,” I said. “If we can access the lab’s backup drive, we can find the original timestamp.”

“I’m at my desk in the annex,” Koko said, her voice dropping. “But the security guards are patrolling the corridors.”

Suddenly, my phone vibrated in my hand, interrupting our call.

A text message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.

I tapped it open.

It was an image of my desk in the laboratory, completely cleared out.

Beneath the photo was a single line of text.

*Don’t come back.*

My finger hovered over the screen as a second message immediately followed.

The second message was a PDF attachment.