TCaroline Friday enters The Midas Protocol in Chapter Three with purple-streaked hair, a bad attitude and a desperate need for a job that will carry her through Christmas. Unfortunately, that job is cooking burgers inside the greasy kitchen of Burger Empire for an overbearing creep named Pete.
The Midas Protocol · Recorded live August 16, 2026
At this point in her life, Caroline knows nothing about the Bingham murders, investigative journalism or the danger gathering around Hank Raglan. She is simply trying to survive another shift without burning every burger on the grill—or finally telling Pete exactly what she thinks of him. What happens here, however, represents the unlikely beginning of Caroline’s much larger story.
Join me, author Matt De Reno, for this complete reading of Chapter Three of The Midas Protocol, Book One of The Midas Files. If you enjoy the reading, please like the video, subscribe to the Scratch Writing channel and visit ScratchWriting.com to explore more from The Midas Files.ters whose lives will be transformed by what Bingham left behind. Reading it aloud reminded me how much of this story begins with people standing close to opportunity without yet understanding its price.
About the Author
Matt De Reno
Matt De Reno is the author of The Midas Files, a Pittsburgh-rooted science-fiction thriller series exploring UFOs, secret histories, ancient technology, and the occasional problem caused by reality folding in on itself. In The Scratching Post, he writes about the creative life behind the books—storytelling, indie publishing, AI experiments, live readings, works in progress, and whatever strange idea has wandered into his notebook that week. Email him at
