85297.mp4

For the first ten minutes, nothing happened. Just the sound of rain against the glass and the distant clink of ceramic mugs. Then, a man walked into the frame and sat down. It was his father, thirty years younger, looking frantic. He kept checking his watch and looking at the door.

The video didn't end. It cut to black, but the audio continued. Footsteps. A door swinging open. And then, the unmistakable sound of someone typing on a keypad. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. 85297.mp4

Elias froze. In the video, his father reached out and touched the camera lens, his thumb blurring the image. For the first ten minutes, nothing happened