CHAPTER 187 — WHEN DOUBT FOUND A WAY IN
By morning, the shift was no longer subtle.
Elena felt it before she even reached the main floor, in the way conversations slowed just slightly when decisions had to be made, in the way responses carried a fraction of hesitation that had not been there before. Nothing obvious had broken, nothing had collapsed into chaos, yet something fragile had been touched, something that had once moved without friction now catching, just enough to be felt. It was not disorder. It was uncertainty, and uncertainty spread faster than any disruption the system could have created on its own.
