Chapter 2: The Lie Broadcasted
Chapter 2: The Lie Broadcasted
They found shelter in an abandoned fishing shack miles from the main highway. Mariana managed to scavenge some discarded clothes and a half-empty bottle of clean water from the debris left by careless beachgoers. Nico was running a mild fever, his small body shivering under a scratchy wool blanket Mariana had dusted off. She needed supplies, medicine, and information. Leaving Nico hidden, she hiked to a dusty roadside gas station a few miles away.
Inside the dingy convenience store, a small television mounted above the cash register was tuned to a global news network. Mariana froze. There, standing behind a polished mahogany podium, was her father, Rodrigo. He wore his signature somber suit, looking every bit the grieving patriarch. Her mother stood beside him, dabbing her dry eyes with a tissue.
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"My daughter, Mariana, has suffered deeply from severe depression," Rodrigo’s smooth, practiced voice echoed through the cheap TV speakers. "Despite our best efforts to get her psychiatric help, she experienced a severe mental health crisis last night. Tragically, she took her own life, and the life of our beloved grandson, by leaping from our family vessel."
Mariana’s fists clenched until her fingernails dug into her palms, drawing blood. They were controlling the narrative flawlessly. The police chief of their district was standing in the background, nodding sympathetically. The media swallowed the lie whole. But Rodrigo had made one fatal miscalculation. He was a man who trusted analog power—money, influence, and fear. He didn't understand technology the way Mariana did.
