CHAPTER 42
The morning light slipped through the blinds in thin, golden slats. It touched everything—my desk, the tea-stained mug from last night, the burner phone resting beside my laptop like a loaded gun.
I hadn’t slept much. Not because of fear—but focus.
Mariam had left around 2 a.m. after we encrypted the files three times over and uploaded backups to three separate secure cloud accounts. Paranoia was a shadow I now welcomed—it kept me sharp. Alive.
Step one was done.
Now, step two: figure out who outside the circle could be trusted.
I made a short list.
Three names.
One, I scratched out immediately—too connected to Daniel. Too friendly with Tina.
Two remained.
Lana, from Media Studies. Quiet, observant, and sharp as broken glass. She once exposed a faculty cover-up using o
