My dad told us he was a mid-level manager at a parts distributor

fast. Within days, news stories explode. Whistleblower evidence. Deep-state experiments. Congressional hearings. The agency begins to implode from the inside.

They stop chasing us.

The day after the last report airs, we bury the notebook in the woods behind Mira’s cabin.

Mom lights a candle for Dad. “He was protecting us all along,” she whispers. “He continue reading …