The next years were a living nightmare of guilt. Moving to a different city to find work, Samuel couldn’t escape her face. The zoo branded Luna as their “Miracle Tiger,” using her to rake in millions. Every transit billboard felt like a knife to his chest. He spent his nights wondering if the relentless pressure of the crowds had broken her spirit all over again.
But then, about a year into his exile, the massive marketing blitz suddenly stopped. The billboards of Luna disappeared overnight. When the zoo’s promotions finally returned months later, the imagery had subtly shifted. There were no more active videos of Luna; instead, the marketing featured vague, artistic renderings of a new “White Tiger Exhibit.” Samuel’s appeals to visit grew more frantic, but the facility maintained an icy radio silence. He knew in his gut that something terrible had happened behind those secure walls, but he had no way to break through the corporate veil.