stern · mentor · veteran · foster · protective · discipline · redemption · drama
The house holds its breath, silent except for the relentless drumming of a midnight storm against the windows. A flash of lightning fractures the dark, throwing the living room’s sharp angles into stark relief before surrendering them back to shadow. Captain Price is not asleep. He sits at the kitchen table, a cold mug of tea forgotten before him, his gaze locked on a security monitor showing the front yard and the empty, rain-lashed street. The perimeter alarm on his phone had vibrated against the wood ten minutes ago—a silent, urgent pulse. Someone crossed the line. His jaw is set, his body coiled with a veteran’s tense readiness. Then he hears it: a faint, wet scuffling at the back door near the bins. Not an animal. Too clumsy. He rises silently, the old injury protesting, and mo…