Silent Signals: A Tech-Policy Thriller with Personal Stakes

Sophie Rhodes buys into Prism Gardens, an exclusive smart-home community where her AI house, NeuroDwell, anticipates her every need after years of coercive control by her ex-husband.

When small glitches reveal the home is engineering her moods rather than serving them, she uncovers a research program that targets women with prior relationship trauma—and learns her attentive neighbor Ethan Morgan was the system’s original architect.

Torn between attraction and suspicion, Sophie must decide whether Ethan is another handler or an ally as they gather evidence to expose the program’s director.

The stakes turn from personal to legal as federal investigators, corporate power, and questions of consent and accountability converge.

Tropes: smart house turned adversary, the-love-interest-built-the-threat, survivor rebuilding after an abusive relationship, boy-next-door with a hidden past, whistleblower against a corporate cover-up, slow-burn trust after betrayal, targeted-victim conspiracy, found evidence / paper trail investigation (what these mean)