Chapter One

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Little Dove Community Centre Demolition Day

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Little Dove Community Centre Demolition Day

Sophie Reese POV

Brad Evans, the CEO of Happy Dollar Store, stared at me from across the road.

He straightened his smart pinstriped suit and raised his megaphone to his mouth.

"Miss. Reese, this is your final warning. Remove yourself from that railing immediately. Otherwise, I will call the police, and you will be arrested for trespassing!"

He could call the police, but I didn't care. This community centre meant the world to me, and I was not going to let this sleaze bag knock it down just so he could build another cheap dollar store and parking lot that this town didn't want.

I held up my placard and defiantly yelled, "Save Little Dove's Community Center!"

Brad shakes his head disapprovingly and yells at his PA to call the police. Behind him, I see the faces of a dozen bored demolition workers sitting in their machinery, waiting for me, the crazy protestor, to be removed.

"This is a waste of your time and mine, Miss. Reese," Brad spat down the megaphone impatiently. "The police are coming to arrest you, and once that has happened, this building will be pulled down."

"Over my dead body!"

I glance down at the chains around my waist, arms and legs. Brad can call the police, and the police can come. Still, without super-strength bolt cutters, no one would remove me from the railing of the community centre.

At least ten chains were wrapped around my body. Each chain was held together with multiple padlock locks. It made me feel almost sorry for the poor asshole that would get me out of these chains.

"Look, I understand you have some sentimental attachment to the building. You and your late grandparents were volunteers here and did great work for the community, but there is a bigger picture here. The building has been condemned, and it's no longer safe for you and others to use."

"But we can afford the repairs now!"

"It's too late, Miss Reese. You were unable to raise the necessary funds to save the centre, and now the building and land it sits on have been legally brought by my company."

"That doesn't matter to me. I'm not going to let you or the police drag me away from this building without a fight."

And I meant it. This building might not mean a lot to Brad and his demolition crew, but it meant the world to the people of this community and me. When this centre was open, it ran all kinds of services. There was a food bank for families hit hard by the recession. We ran a soup kitchen for the homeless that served hot meals seven days a week. I helped local organisations run support groups that offered counselling and support to recovering drug addicts.

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