Chapter 4 - One Cruel Kick
Emily saw what Vanessa intended to do a second too late.
“Don’t.”
Vanessa kicked through the nearest tower.
Sand exploded across the beach.
The tower collapsed into the bridge, and the bridge fell against the shell-covered wall. The small flowers disappeared beneath the falling sand.
Noah screamed.
Vanessa kicked the second tower.
The American flag tipped sideways.
Noah rushed forward and grabbed it before it touched the ground.
For several seconds, he could not speak.
He stared at the ruins as if he were watching his father disappear all over again.
The beach around them became silent.
Vanessa pointed her phone at the broken castle.
“There. Problem solved.”
Emily dropped beside Noah and wrapped both arms around him.
His shoulders shook.
“I built it for my dad,” he whispered.
Vanessa shrugged.
“It’s just sand.”
Emily looked up.
There was anger in her face, but something stronger held her back. Noah needed her more than Vanessa deserved a response.
“My dad was coming home,” Noah cried. “He always comes home on July Fourth.”
Vanessa’s expression changed for half a second.
Then she looked at the number of viewers on her screen and hardened her voice.
“Children need to learn that the world doesn’t stop for their feelings.”
Several people began recording.
A father standing nearby stepped forward.
“You destroyed a child’s work for a camera angle.”
Vanessa turned her phone toward him.
“Please don’t harass me.”
Noah’s crying grew louder.
Emily picked him up even though he was almost too large to carry. He buried his face against her shoulder.
At the lifeguard station, Walter had witnessed everything.
His hands tightened around the railing.
The younger lifeguard beside him was already moving.
“Should I call security?”
“Yes,” Walter said.
Then he looked toward the stage, where a yellow presentation box waited beside the microphone.
Walter had planned to surprise Noah and Emily later that afternoon.
The Silver Bay Rescue Foundation had spent months collecting donations for a children’s safety center named after Daniel. The official announcement was supposed to happen before the fireworks.
May you like
Walter looked at Vanessa, who was still speaking to her online audience as if she were the victim.
“No,” he said quietly. “Bring me the yellow box first.”
