Across the street, a dark sedan was parked beneath a tree.
Someone was sitting inside.
Nick walked outside.
The car started immediately.
It drove away.
That was when Nick stopped thinking of Victor as an annoying stranger.
He started thinking of him as a threat.
And he was right.
Because two nights later, at exactly 11:47 p.m., the Grace family heard a violent crash.
Glass exploded across the living-room floor.
Logan screamed.
Allison jumped out of bed.
Nick ran downstairs.
A brick lay in the middle of the room.
Wrapped around it was a sheet of paper.
Nick picked it up.
There were only four words.
YOU WERE WARNED, GRACE.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Nick looked at his son.
Logan was shaking.
And something inside Nick finally snapped.
Not into violence.
Not yet.
But into determination.
Whoever had thrown that brick had just made one terrible mistake.
They had turned a quiet family into a family determined to find the truth.
And Nick Grace was not going to stop until he did.
The police arrived twelve minutes later.
Nick stood outside while an officer photographed the broken window.
Allison sat beside Logan in the kitchen, holding him tightly.
Nick kept staring at the street.
"Did you see anyone?" the officer asked.
"No."
"Any vehicles?"
"Possibly a dark sedan."
"Make or model?"
"Couldn't tell."
The officer nodded.
"Do you have enemies?"
Nick almost smiled.
"No."
The officer looked toward the broken window.
"Anyone you've argued with recently?"
Nick thought about Victor Hale.
"Someone claiming to be from the HOA."
The officer raised an eyebrow.
"Claiming?"
"Yes."
Nick explained everything.
The fake badge.
The fake notices.
The phone call.
The dark sedan.
The officer wrote it all down.
"Do you have security cameras?"
Nick pointed toward the front porch.
"Two."
The officer's expression became more serious.
"Good. Save everything."
After the police left, Nick stayed awake until morning.
He reviewed the camera footage.
At 11:46 p.m., the street was empty.
At 11:47, a dark sedan appeared.
The vehicle slowed in front of their house.
A figure stepped out.
The person's face was hidden beneath a hood.
The figure approached the living-room window.
Then—
Crash.
The person ran back to the sedan.
Nick froze the video.
He enlarged the image.
The resolution wasn't perfect.
But there was something visible.
The person wore the same dark polo shirt.
The HOA shirt.
Nick called the association again the next morning.
This time, he asked for the board president.
A woman named Karen Mitchell returned his call.
"I'm sorry you've been dealing with this," she said.
"Do you know Victor Hale?"
"No."
"Has your association ever employed someone by that name?"
"No."
"Then someone is impersonating your organization."
Karen sighed.
"Apparently."
Nick sent her copies of the fake notices.
She immediately replied.
"These aren't our forms."
"Can you confirm that in writing?"
"Absolutely."
Nick felt something shift.
The situation was no longer just a family dispute.
Someone was committing crimes while pretending to represent a legitimate organization.
But there was another problem.
The fake notices had contained information that wasn't publicly available.
They mentioned the exact location of Nick's security cameras.
They knew Logan's name.
They knew when the family usually came home.
That meant someone had been watching them.
Allison realized it too.
"Nick," she whispered, "someone has been observing us."
He nodded.
"I know."
"We need to be careful."
"I know."
Logan overheard them.
"Are we in danger?"
Nick looked at his son.
He wanted to say no.
But he had learned that comforting lies could be dangerous.
"We're going to make sure you're safe."
That afternoon, Nick installed additional lights around the property.
He moved the cameras.
He changed passwords.
He called the police again.
Then he contacted a lawyer.
The lawyer's name was Daniel Brooks.
Daniel listened carefully.
"If this person is impersonating the HOA and threatening your family, you need to document everything."
"We are."
"Don't confront him."
Nick hesitated.
"I wasn't planning to."
Daniel gave him a knowing pause.
"Mr. Grace."
"Yes?"
"People who feel threatened sometimes make decisions they regret."
Nick looked at the broken window.
"I understand."
That night, the family ate dinner in silence.
Logan barely touched his food.
Allison finally reached across the table and took his hand.
"This isn't your fault."
"I know."
"You're sure?"
Logan nodded.
After dinner, he went upstairs.