The students began murmuring — this time not about Daniel.
Two boys approached him quietly. “We knew you didn’t do it.”
“Sorry we didn’t say anything sooner.”
Daniel nodded.
In the hallway, he finally spoke.
“Dad… I thought no one would believe me.”
Carlos stopped walking and met his son’s eyes.
“As long as you’re honest, I’ll stand with you.”
“It was humiliating,” Daniel admitted. “When she emptied my backpack.”
“That should never happen again,” his father replied calmly.
At the entrance, Colonel Brooks joined them.
“It will go through formal investigation,” he said. “The call, the suggestion of cash, the public search — all documented.”
“Thank you,” Carlos said.
“Don’t thank me. Thank the cameras. And the fact that you refused to pay.”
In the car, the silence felt lighter.
“Were you scared?” Daniel asked.
“Yes,” Carlos answered. “But not for myself.”
Daniel looked out the window. “I was scared too.”
“Fear doesn’t make you guilty,” his father said.
At home, the crooked cabinet door still waited. The screwdriver lay on the floor where it had fallen.
Carlos picked it up. “Let’s finish this.”
Daniel stood beside him, watching as he adjusted the hinge carefully until the door aligned perfectly.
“Dad?”