The city didn't celebrate.
It held its breath.
The suspension of Minister Elias Voss didn't come with fireworks or victory songs. It came with uncertainty, the kind that sat in living rooms and classrooms and cafés like an uninvited guest, asking what came next and not liking any of the answers.
Mira felt it everywhere.
In the way people looked at her when she walked down the street , not with awe, not with anger, but with something closer to expectation. As if she'd been cast in a role she hadn't auditioned for and now everyone wanted to see how she would play it.
She hated it.
She loved it.
She didn't know what to do with it.
The notebook from her father stayed in her bag, heavy as a second heart. She hadn't finished reading it yet. Some parts felt too personal, too close to something she wasn't ready to touch.
Adrian walked beside her, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed in a way that didn't match the way his eyes kept scanning reflections in windows and parked cars.
