Zack’s world begins to spiral in a way he never anticipated in EastEnders as gossip about the unexpected smooch continues to swirl through Albert Square, growing louder and more distorted with every retelling, and just when he thinks he can brush off the whispers, his phone buzzes with a chilling message instructing him in no uncertain terms to stay far away from the Fowlers, a warning so blunt and threatening that it stops him cold in the middle of the street, his breath catching as he realizes someone is watching him far more closely than he imagined, and what shakes him even more is the sinking awareness that this isn’t the first time he has received such a caution because similar cryptic messages have been popping up for weeks, all hinting that he is treading somewhere he shouldn’t, though he never mentioned them to anyone, chalking them up to trolls or bored locals stirring trouble, but now the tone is too specific, too personal, and too connected to the current drama for him to ignore, especially when he notices the message was sent from an untraceable number that disappears moments after the notification flashes on his screen, sending Zack into a quiet panic as he glances around the Square, wondering if the sender is close by, watching his every move, and when Sharon confronts him later that afternoon after spotting the shaken look on his face, she presses him for answers, refusing to let him dodge her questions, and he finally confesses that this is far from the first threatening text he has received, admitting he should have told her sooner but didn’t want to worry her or spark even more scrutiny, yet Sharon instantly realizes the gravity of what he has been hiding, her expression hardening as she demands to know who could be targeting him and why, but Zack doesn’t have answers, only a growing fear that someone is deliberately trying to scare him away from the Fowlers, perhaps to protect a secret connected to the smooch, or perhaps to manipulate the narrative before the truth comes out, and as he tries to piece together the timeline of the warnings, he remembers an unsettling encounter two weeks earlier when he noticed a figure lurking near the Arches, someone who vanished the moment Zack made eye contact, someone who might have been following him longer than he realized, and Sharon, sensing the danger, vows to help him uncover who is behind these messages, though Zack worries that pulling her into this mess might make her a target too, especially if the person behind the warnings is tied to the darker factions operating quietly within Walford, factions known for intimidation and secrecy, and as night falls Zack cannot shake the feeling that things are about to escalate, that the texts are only the beginning of a much bigger threat, and that the truth behind the smooch — and whoever wants it buried — might be far more explosive than anyone in the Square is prepared to face.