By Friday, the city had picked a new rhythm.
Charlie noticed it in the pauses between sounds. The way traffic hesitated at intersections it used to ignore. The way people checked over their shoulders before answering simple questions.
Something was being enforced.
At work, manuscripts arrived late. Meetings were canceled without explanation. Her boss stopped leaving his office door open.
"You're jumpy," Nina said over lunch, stirring her drink like it had personally offended her.
"I'm observant," Charlie replied.
Nina gave her a look. "Same thing. Different font."
They ate in silence for a moment.
"Promise me something," Nina said suddenly.
Charlie sighed. "That always leads to nonsense."
"Promise you won't get involved in anything you don't understand."
Charlie frowned. "I don't plan on joining a cult."
Nina didn't laugh.
"Charlie."
That single word carried weight. Real fear. The kind that didn't need explanation.
Later that evening, Charlie found a note slipped under her apartment door.
No envelope. No handwriting she recognized.
Be careful who you associate with.
Her stomach dropped.
She checked the hallway. Empty. Too empty. Like sound itself had been warned away.
The building manager claimed ignorance. The police shrugged it off. "Probably a prank."
But Charlie had never been the kind of person who mistook intention for coincidence.
She didn't sleep much that night.
Across the city, Blake stood on a balcony overlooking the river, phone pressed to his ear.
"She's not involved," someone said on the other end. Nervous. Eager to please.
Blake watched the lights ripple on the water below. "Not yet."
"Then why the warning?"
A pause.
"Because she's close enough to notice patterns," Blake replied. "And people like that become problems. Or assets."
Silence stretched.
"Do nothing else," Blake continued. "If she steps out of line, I'll handle it."
The call ended.
Charlie woke the next morning with the distinct feeling that something had shifted overnight.
She couldn't name it.
Only that the city felt smaller.
And she was suddenly very aware of how easy it would be to disappear inside it.