Part 2

On the camera feed, Arthur circled the house with a flashlight, testing windows. When he found nothing unlocked, he reached the utility box and pulled the main breaker. The house went black for five seconds. Then the backup batteries engaged, and the lights returned warm and steady. Arthur stared at the glowing windows, stunned. He had forgotten I designed the place to survive storms.

Around two in the morning, the Buick’s interior light went off. They reclined their seats. They were actually sleeping in my driveway. Wrapped in a blanket, I opened my laptop and searched the Ohio property records. The sale was real: $620,000. Their house had been paid off years ago. Even after Chloe’s debts, there should have been money left. So why were they broke?

I checked Chloe’s public Instagram. Four hours earlier, she had posted champagne from a luxury resort, captioned with “New beginnings” and hashtags about crypto and generational wealth. Two days before that, she had posted a bright yellow Porsche Boxster with a giant red bow.