The uneasy calm shattered completely when Ms. Liza didn't show up for school. Substitutes covered her classes. The official word was a "family emergency."
Leo and I went to her house after school. Her car was there, but the curtains were drawn. She didn't answer the door. A neighbor saw us lurking and called out, "Are you looking for Liza? Poor thing. Some men came to see her last night. Official-looking. She hasn't been out since."
Our hearts sank. They hadn't gone after us directly. They'd gone after our adult ally. They had silenced her. The reporter in Manila must have started asking questions, and the Alcantaras had moved to contain the leak at the source. We were on our own again.