She shook the rabbit upside down, but nothing fell out.

The note I had left for her—the one detailing the exact time my father and I would be in the monitoring room—was gone.

Rosa looked around the kitchen, her eyes wide with fear, realizing someone had already found it.

She clutched her apron, her breath coming in quick, visible gasps.

On the main monitor, Patricia finished signing the last page of the petition.

“It’s done,” Patricia said, handed the pen back to Vance.

At that exact moment, the landline phone in the monitoring room began to ring.

The red light on the console flashed in rhythm with the shrill ring.

Ramiro did not answer it immediately.

He looked at my father, waiting for a silent command.

My father kept his eyes on the kitchen monitor.

On the screen, Rosa was staring at the empty space inside the porcelain rabbit.

Her fingers clawed at the air as if she could make the paper reappear by sheer will.

Then, her hand brushed the edge of the shelf.

The porcelain rabbit tipped forward.