# **Chapter Six: The King’s Ransom**
Monday morning brought a change in the weather. The heavy, low grey sky that had pressed down on Cradle Grove for weeks finally split open. Not with rain, but with a thin, watery sunlight that felt more like an interrogation lamp than a blessing. It washed over the estate, illuminating every crack in the pavement, every weed choking the gutters, every lurid splash of graffiti with a cruel, clinical clarity. The light didn't warm; it exposed.
It als