Chapter 2: Echoes in the Snow
They stopped at a secluded gas station forty miles outside town. While Lily slept fitfully in the seat, Jack flipped through the rest of the file under the dim overhead light. His chest tightened with every turned page.
It wasn't just Lily. The cabinet contained dozens of folders spanning over twenty years. Names, ages, photos of young children with hollow, terrified eyes—each marked with progress reports on ""emotional dampening"" and ""submission conditioning."" Eleanor was running an off-the-books experimental facility hidden behind private donations.
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Jack stared at his daughter's pale face. He had spent years trusting his mother, believing her sharp reprimands and strict demeanor were just old-fashioned discipline. He had let his daughter spend weekends at ""Grandma's cabin,"" oblivious to the cruel, calculated psychological torture unfolding behind locked doors.
Guilt clawed at his throat. He hadn't protected her. But as he looked at the thick stack of evidence in his lap, a cold determination took root inside him. He wasn't just running anymore. He was going to burn his mother’s empire to the ground.
