Meanwhile, back at the Bright residence, specifically Samantha's room…
The room was dark. Not pitch black—more like gently neglected.
A single glow leaked in from the hallway through a gap in the door, slanting across the floor and dying before it reached the bed.
Samantha sat upright against her pillows, knees bent beneath the covers. The air was cool, which she didn't mind—her arms were bare, the sleeves of her nightie pushed up.
A faint breeze moved in through the slightly open window, lifting the curtain just enough to remind her that the world hadn't ended.
She adjusted her glasses and tapped the screen of the tablet resting against her thighs. The soft tap-tap of the on-screen keyboard filled the silence.
She'd made it this far. VPN running. Private mode active. Search tab wiped clean the moment she opened it.
She'd even checked the previous page again—"how to search anonymously without leaving trace"—just to be sure.
Not that she really understood all of it.
