The penitentiary went into immediate lockdown. Sirens blared across town as helicopters circled the area, their spotlights sweeping the forest. Officers in tactical gear marched through Daniel’s yard like soldiers. For the first time in his life, he looked at his property not as home, but as a frontline.
Daniel’s expertise kept him tethered to the investigation. Engineers asked his opinion on the soil’s stability, whether more collapses might follow. He answered as best he could, but his mind wasn’t on geology anymore. It was on Claire’s frightened eyes, on Ethan’s shaking hands, on Leo’s whispered question: “Are we safe?”