Michael gathered the neighbors. He didn’t promise miracles. He promised work.
“Every hour you contribute earns points,” he explained. “Labor, tools, even cooking meals for workers. At the end, two families with the most points get homes.”
Construction began.
Michael, once worth millions, hauled lumber, mixed cement, blistered his hands under the sun. His back ached. His skin burned. But for the first time in years, he felt alive.
Ethan followed him everywhere, wearing a toy hard hat. “We’re building the future,” the boy would say proudly.
Halfway through construction, a black sedan rolled up. City inspectors stepped out.
“Work suspended,” one announced, slapping a red notice on the fence. “Complaint about code violations.”
Silence fell over the site.
If the project stopped, Harris would cancel everything.
Michael felt the old panic rising — the same helplessness that had swallowed his company. But then he saw Ethan clutching his toy truck, eyes wide with fear.
He couldn’t fail again.
“No one leaves,” Michael called out. “We fight this.”