I forced myself to stay calm as I installed software on my new computer, scanning for viruses one by one. I was determined not to install any risky software—caution was key.
Once all the programs were set up, I tentatively wrote a couple of lines of new code.
Then I anxiously monitored Sophie's forum, refreshing the page repeatedly to see if she had posted anything new.
I waited for over an hour without any updates from her. My heart raced with excitement—could it really be that my computer had been the problem?!
In a hurry, I dashed downstairs and threw my old notebook as far away as possible; I didn't want it spying on me anymore.
Back in my room, I rolled up my sleeves and wrote a short segment of code before waiting again for Sophie's forum to update.
Another hour passed with no news from her.
Even her adoring fans began to get anxious and asked about her progress, but there were still no updates from Sophie.
I felt a sense of triumph; no matter how deeply she hid her actions, I had managed to uncover them.
But the painful lessons from my past haunted me—I feared making another wrong judgment could cost me my life again.