Chapter 74 Weaving Shadows, Building Walls

• (POV: Elena)
• The dark sedan from that quiet Madrid street. The glint of light from the driver’s hand. Was it a real threat? Or just my fear, a ghost born from years of looking over my shoulder? I couldn't know. And that not knowing, that constant uncertainty, was a poison. It meant Elena couldn't just rely on cheap disguises, anonymous rooms, and changing her walking routes. Mateo Castillo wasn't some common street thug. He had resources, connections, technology. If he was hunting me, as I suspected, he would use every tool at his command, not rely on luck.
• And his most powerful tools, I suspected, were digital. Tracking phones, hacking accounts, sifting through the vast ocean of online data for any tiny ripple that might be Isabela Montoya trying to surface. My flimsy burner phone, my cautious use of library computers – they felt like children’s toys against the kind of surveillance he could unleash.