After dinner, Mirabe settled into the couch, the TV still murmuring in the


    background. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, a call from Lisa. Mirabe paused, her fingers hovering over the screen for a moment as thoughts of Ben crossed her mind, before finally answering.


    "Mira, I just heard you''ve been out sick too. Are you alright?" Lisa''s voice crackled through the phone, punctuated by a cough.


    Hearing the familiar, raspy cough, Mirabe lifted her gaze slightly. "I''m fine, but what about you? Still under the weather?"


    Lisa coughed again, then with a hint of frustration said, "I''m mostly better, but this cough is like a clingy ex-it just won''t leave me alone."


    Mirabe nodded knowingly, "Keep drinking that hot tea."


    "Yeah, yeah," Lisa chuckled, her fingers absentmindedly fiddling with a figurine on the table. Her once round cheeks had slimmed down quite a bit. "So, are you heading back to school tomorrow?"


    "I think I''ll take a couple more days to rest," Mirabe mused.


    "Alright," Lisa replied softly, her voice a bit strained. Her throat was scratchy, leading to more coughing fits, so she wrapped up the call quickly.


    cing her phone down, Lisa stood up and stepped out of her room, hand over her mouth as she tried to stifle her coughs while heading downstairs. There, Gracie and Thomas were deep in conversation, both wearing worried expressions. But as Lisa appeared, they pulled themselves together somewhat.


    "Mom, Dad, what''s going on?" Lisa asked, initially nning to grab some water, but their tense demeanor drew her in.


    Gracie nced at her, words catching in her throat. After a pause, she finally said, "It''s your brother Emmitt; he''s in trouble."


    Lisa froze, "Trouble? What happened?"


    Gracie''s eyes were rimmed with red, having always treated Ben like family. "Yeah, something about leaking ssified information. They''ve detained him in some high-security facility."


    Thomas remained slouched on the couch, his hand pressed to his forehead, looking like he''d aged a decade in mere moments.


    "So, what''s the situation now?" Lisa asked, her fingers tightening unconsciously.


    "Your dad and tried to find out


    more, but they said what he did was serious. The chances of him getting out are really slim..." Gracie continued, but Lisa''s focus drifted. The words ''chances of him getting out are really slim'' echoed in her mind.


    Years ago, Lisa had stumbled upon Ben dissecting a living person for one of his experiments. Since then she couldn''t see him as anything but a monster. His eyes had been so cold, like human lives were nothing but ants to him, only valuable for his experiments.


    She couldn''t understand how Ben could so carelessly disregard life without any repercussions. She had thought about exposing him, but fear held her back. She couldntrisk her family''s safety. Over the years, she tried to distance herself, but it fest impossible to truly escape him.


    Lisa coughed again, her throat feeling rough, yet oddly, she felt a sense of relief. People like Emmitt should have been stopped sooner.


    Lowering her head, a faint, indescribable smile tugged at her lips. Maybe it''s for


    the best that he stays locked up... At least now, she wouldn''t have to live in constant fear of waking up on his experiment table.