FRED'S HOME

After much deliberation, she finally found another place to stay. It wasn't the ideal home, especially since Fred wasn’t there, but she was willing to endure it—if only because Natalie was staying there for a while.

She could still see it vividly: her house reduced to ashes, the acrid scent of smoke thick in the air, her own face streaked with tears. Now, she sat on the couch, lost in a daze she couldn't shake.

"What happened?" Bethany murmured to herself.

She had been in the room for hours. No one dared to approach her—perhaps Natalie had convinced them to keep their distance, knowing how vulnerable she was....