I opened my mouth to fight back, to say something.

But then I thought of my father-in-law. Burned alive in there last night.

The words died in my throat.

John's mother had hemorrhaged during his birth and never made it. For over twenty years, his father had raised him alone, playing both mother and father. That was why John's bond with his dad ran so deep.

I swallowed my anger. Steadied myself. Stepped toward him again.

"John, I didn't set the fire. The wiring was old. It short-circuited. Your dad—"

"Why do you keep bringing up my dad?!"

He cut me off again.

"Don't think that just because my dad was good to you, you can burn the house down and get away with it!"

"Faulty wiring? Stella, you can't even lie properly. I built this house last year. Denise connected me with the construction crew. Top-quality work across the board. You're telling me the wiring failed in one year?"

Denise covered her mouth and let out a little laugh.

"Stella, I know you must be jealous that John spent my birthday with me, but you can't just burn the house down in a fit of rage! If you keep being this reckless, John's only going to resent you more."

"He doesn't have to wait." John pointed his finger straight at the tip of my nose, disgust pooling in his eyes. "I already can't stand the sight of you."

"Stella, I'm telling you right now. However you destroyed this house, you're going to put it back exactly the way it was. If a single thing is off, you'll see what happens."

The fury churned inside my chest like a living thing.

But my father-in-law's screams from the night before kept echoing in my ears, pushing that rage back down every time it tried to rise.

Eight years. Terry had been good to me for eight years.

Back in the countryside, dying in a fire was considered an unnatural death. He'd been lying in there all night. If we didn't arrange his funeral soon, I was afraid his spirit wouldn't find peace.

So I stepped forward and grabbed John's sleeve.

"John, your father is in there! Come inside with me and look!"

I was terrified he'd cut me off again, so I forced every word out as fast as I could.

John froze for a second.

Then he shoved me away.

He used real force. I crumpled onto the blackened wreckage, palms scraping against charred debris.

John pointed down at me, jaw clenched, voice like a blade.