Traitor.
Then she asked about building.
I showed her my sketches.
A one-room cabin.
Tiny kitchen.
Sleeping loft.
Bathroom eventually.
A porch.
Lily stared at them.
“You drew these?”
“Yes.”
“You’re good.”
“My grandfather taught me basic plans.”
“Why didn’t you ever do this before?”
I looked at her.
“Life went somewhere else.”
She nodded.
Neither of us needed details.
Building permits became my next battle.
The county inspector looked at me like I was impossible.
“You cannot just build from scraps.”
“I know.”
“You need approved plans.”
“I know.”
“Septic.”
“I know.”
“Foundation.”
“I know.”
He sighed.
“Then why are you arguing?”
“I’m not.”
That annoyed him more.
Maya connected me with a nonprofit that helped formerly incarcerated people obtain employment.
Through them, I found work with a small carpentry crew.
The owner was a man named Luis Ortega.
He asked about my record directly.
“What did you do?”
I told him.
He listened.
Then asked.
“Can you show up at seven?”
“Yes.”
“Can you follow measurements?”
“Yes.”
“Can you take correction without walking off?”
I laughed.
“Eleven years of prison prepared me for correction.”
He smiled.
“Start Monday.”
That job changed everything.
At first, I carried lumber.
Cleaned sites.
Sorted screws.
Then Luis noticed I understood tools.
He taught me framing.
Drywall.
Roofing.
Basic electrical safety.
Not wiring.
He was strict about licenses.
I saved money.
Samuel helped on weekends.
Lily came sometimes.
Even Patch became part of the crew.
Six months after release, I poured the foundation for my cabin.
Not large.
Four hundred and eighty square feet.
One bedroom.
One bath.
Kitchenette.
Wood stove.
Porch.
The cave remained behind it.
I kept the cave untouched except for cleanup.
I could not erase the place that saved me.
My mother hated the cabin project.
She said I was wasting valuable land.
Then she did something I did not expect.
She filed a claim.
Her attorney argued my grandfather had lacked capacity when he executed the trust provisions.
Maya had warned me.
Still, it hurt.
My own mother sued me over the one thing my grandfather left me.
Samuel stopped speaking to her.
Mark supported her.
Lily was furious.
I asked Lily not to get involved.
She said.
“She kept you from me.”
“I know.”
“She lied.”
“I know.”
“She knew about the land.”
“I know.”
“And you want me to stay out?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
