“Fix your mess,” she said, dropping the bar like it meant nothing.
Then she walked away.
Just like that.
Silence swallowed the street.
Caleb was back at the top of the steps.
Watching again.
Inside, Ethan sat on his bed, staring at his hands.
“I should’ve built it stronger,” he muttered.
“No,” I said firmly. “You did something good.”
“But it didn’t last.”
That part hurt, because I didn’t have an answer.
I thought that was the worst of it.
I was wrong again.
The next morning, black SUVs pulled up in front of Mrs. Harlow’s house.
Men in suits stepped out—not neighbors, not police. Something else entirely.
They knocked.
Mrs. Harlow opened the door, all smiles at first—until they started talking.
I couldn’t hear everything, but I saw her face change. The confidence drained out of her.
Then I heard it.
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