Chapter 197 : Falling Into Place, and Falling Apart

*Shelby*

After gently tucking Shelby into bed, her tears still fresh in my mind, I kissed her forehead and closed the door behind me. I stepped out into the night, feeling like a part of me had been dragged away as I left her in the bedroom.

Droplets of sweat beaded on my skin as I made my way through the patio and stared up at the clear night sky, searching for guidance. My thumb swiped across the cold glass surface of my phone, but I knew that there were no answers on its surface.

The weight of our troubles seemed to press onto me from all sides, making it harder to breathe. I needed answers, a lifeline in the storm that was our lives.

I clenched my fingers around the phone and pressed it to my forehead before dialing the number of my trusted hacker, a man with the uncanny ability to navigate the darkest corners of the digital realm. The line crackled to life, and I wasted no time in getting to the heart of the matter.