Chapter 6 - ETHAN’S MORNING COFFEE CRISIS
The first sign of the collapse came at 8:45 a.m. From the cottage window, I watched Ethan stride out toward his luxury European sports car parked in the circular driveway. He jammed his key fob into the ignition, but the dashboard flared red with error codes, and his phone immediately buzzed with fraud alerts from his bank. I watched him step out of the car, cursing loudly as he dialed his private banker. Within minutes, Vanessa appeared on the back patio in a silk robe, holding an empty coffee mug, her face twisting in confusion as her own credit card was declined at the automated gate system.
