She opened the velvet case inside and held up my Silver Star for everyone to see. “Probably bought it somewhere,” she scoffed. “There’s no way she earned this.” I stepped forward, my voice steady as I told her it wasn’t a prop—that it meant something. That it mattered.

She didn’t care. Without a second thought, she dropped it straight into the fire. The ribbon caught first, curling into smoke, and then the silver star itself disappeared into the burning coals.

For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then Eli ran forward, shouting the truth, reaching instinctively toward the grill—and that’s when she struck him. His small body hit the concrete hard, and the world narrowed to the sound of my own breathing as I rushed to him, checking his pulse, willing him to respond.

Around us, the party dissolved into stunned silence, but Lisa just laughed—confident, untouchable, certain she would face no consequences.