The door shut behind her like the closing of a confession booth.
Veronica didn't speak. She poured two glasses of something amber and quiet, handed one to Claire, then walked into the living room barefoot, like this wasn't the middle of an emotional earthquake.
Claire followed.
"Daniel's watching me," she said flatly.
Veronica sat. "Yes."
Claire blinked. "That's all you have to say?"
Veronica's voice was silk over stone. "I knew he was watching. I didn't know how far he'd go. Until now."
"You didn't warn me?"
"You already knew. You just didn't want to know."
Claire dropped onto the couch across from her, her thighs exposed beneath her robe, glass shaking in her hand.
"He put a camera under my kitchen window."
Veronica's eyes narrowed. "Then he's escalated."
"I thought—" Claire stopped. "No. I didn't think. I ignored it. Because I wanted to believe he was just... looking."
Veronica leaned forward, crossing her legs slowly, deliberately. "Claire, men don't just look. They possess with their eyes. And if they're not stopped, they take."
Claire flinched.
Veronica stood. Walked behind her. Her fingers touched Claire's shoulders—gentle, then firm.
"You let your guard down."
Claire whispered, "With Nina, yes."
Veronica's hands didn't move. "With me, too."
Claire turned her head. Veronica's mouth was inches from her ear.
"You're not here because of Daniel. You're here because you want to remember how it feels to be afraid of your own skin again."
Claire stood abruptly.
"You think I came for this?" Her voice cracked. "This power play? This cold seduction?"
Veronica raised a brow. "No. I think you came for truth. And I'm the only one here who doesn't lie to you."
Silence settled between them, thick and electric.
Then: Claire stepped closer.
Not a kiss. Not quite.
But something passed between their mouths. A breath. A dare. An almost.
Claire turned and walked out.
Nina was sitting in her kitchen, the kettle boiling beside her, but she didn't notice.
She kept checking her phone.
No message.
No update.
Nothing from Claire.
Her instincts had sharpened after last night. The way Claire clung to her, whispered against her throat like it might be the last time. The way she left without saying why.
Nina closed her eyes, pulled the robe tighter.
She's slipping back into someone else's shadow, she thought.
And then a worse thought: Maybe she was never mine to begin with.
Daniel sat in front of his monitor.
The new footage was clearer.
Claire had left. He didn't care where she went.
Because now he was inside.
He'd hacked the doorbell camera. Used the feed to gain access to Claire's Wi-Fi. And from there — her smart fridge, her calendar, her old voice messages.
But what held him still — what made his heart pound and his breathing shallow — was the video file labeled "NINA: BEDROOM."
It was from two nights ago. The one where Claire had come over late. Where they'd made love under soft sheets and soft moans.
Daniel watched it.
Again.
And again.
His hand trembled as it hovered over the "Export" button.
He clicked it.
Saved it.
Then transferred the file to a private group chat with his anonymous online community.
"My neighbor. She doesn't know I'm watching. You'll want to see this."
A second later, it posted.
Ten seconds after that, there were flames and heart emojis.
Gloria sat in the back room of Veronica's house, lit by a single reading lamp.
She was reading the comments.
Veronica's private surveillance net was vast. She knew everything that came through the group chat Daniel frequented.
Gloria's mouth tightened.
"So he's spreading it now?"
Veronica nodded.
"Do we stop him?"
Veronica leaned back in her chair.
"No. We expose him."
Gloria frowned. "How?"
Veronica smiled. "We give him exactly what he wants. And then we let the women devour him."
Claire parked outside Nina's place but didn't get out immediately.
She sat in the car, face in her hands.
Veronica's words echoed in her skull.
You're here because you want to remember how it feels to be afraid of your own skin again.
And god help her, it was true.
There was something about Nina that made her feel seen.
But there was something about Veronica that made her feel known.
Claire exhaled shakily. Then walked to the front door.
Nina opened it before she could knock.
They stared at each other.
No words.
Then Claire stepped forward, wrapped her arms around her, and whispered, "Don't let me go. Even if I run."
Nina pulled her inside, fierce, silent.
"I won't."
Daniel stared at his phone.
The post had gone viral in his group.
They were asking for more.
He felt... seen. Powerful.
He clicked open the folder again.
Then he froze.
There was a new file there.
One he hadn't uploaded.
Labeled: "I SEE YOU, TOO."
He clicked.
It was footage.
Of him.
Standing at Claire's window. Installing the camera.
Followed by clips from his own bedroom window, catching him watching her.
The last frame was text:
"Keep watching. We're watching you, too."
His face went pale.
And for the first time in weeks, he turned off his screen.